The Life Of A Lily And Her Spirit
by Izuru-sama
Summary: This is the story of a girl that has been abused, has seen someone she loves die infront of her, has fought for her life and killed a young woman. This girl is six years old. OC-centric. Updated! Please read, the story is better than summary :3
1. A Lily Sprouts

**Here are ****some super important thingies about the story!!!!**

**This story starts in the 'naruto-world', so it's not some girl coming there from our world and getting mad ninja skills in like two weeks or anything. Let's just say that she comes from a village in Fire country somewhere. **

**Her**** name, Fuyuno Yuri, means "Lily of winter". (Fuyu=winter, no=of, Yuri=lily, but Japanese grammar is kind of "backwards", you know just like "gaara of the desert" is "sabaku no gaara" in Japanese). But if I'm wrong, feel free to correct me.******

'_Thinking' _

"Talking"

*** = beginning/end of flashback

----- = other peoples p.o.v.

_**Disclaimer: I don't own the anime Naruto, or the manga**__**s Naruto, or the Naruto plushies, OR the Naruto cosplayers. Kishimoto-san owns them all, which technically (sp?) makes Kishimoto-san a criminal, BECAUSE YOU CAN'T OWN PEOPLE! **__**.**_

…_**well I can, 'coz I rock. You don't belie**__**ve me? Well I still own all of the haiku poems, Yuri, Miyako and ze mother.**_

**Well, enjoy****. ^^**

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**Chapter**** One**

'**The**** Lily of winter sprouts'**

**_____________________________________________________________________________________________________**

The snowflakes were fluttering down slowly, gracefully from a velvet indigo sky, enchanting the landscape around me, turning the forest into a dreamlike one made of dark emerald and silver, the fields softening as a thick duvet of snow covered them. The light of a full moon illuminated all the tiny ice crystals in the snow, and even the ones that were swirling around in the air, carried by a cold wind, making them shimmer like priceless crystals.

The fire works completed the scene of a perfect new years eve. Any man, woman and child would be awed.

_A lullaby of_

_Memories playing a tune _

_Leaving the one who_

_Listens awake in the snow_.

But I was far from awed. For the forest that was closest to were I was now, was not peacefully, silently shimmering in silver and emerald, it was roaring in pain as it was slowly being devoured by ruby red flames. There were no fields of pure white, no, all that was around me was a small lawn, covered in snow like the fields, but with puddles of blood scattered over it. A lot of it was mine. But just as much, if not more belonged to oka-san. If it wasn't for the fire that was still burning, I would never have believed that it was the same day. For surely, many decades must have passed by now?

_Sleep is lost forever_

_The__ moment we want it most._

_Yet I still listen_

_To the lullaby of dreams,_

_Even__ though I know,_

_Sleep__ will not come to me._

Snow huh... It was almost strange how much it reminded me of myself. Falling, just to land on the cold, hard ground, unable to get up again. It was a simple pattern really. Be created, fall, land and melt. It really was similar to my story. I had been created, I had fallen in a spiral going downwards, I had been picked up by a kind wind once, but in the end, the wind had disappeared and I had landed. Everyone has to land and melt sooner or later, no one lives forever. All that was left for me now was the melting part.

So the snow and I really are alike.

However, there was one difference between the snow and me, something that made me very jealous of it. No matter how high the fall was, the snow never got hurt. Why couldn't I be like the snow? Wouldn't it be wonderful to be uncaring, pure and unable to feel pain and sorrow?

_The source of the tune_

_Will__ always be here with me._

_I'll always listen _

_To the stories it's telling._

_Yet sleep will not come._

The necklace around my neck, a thin silver chain with a small silver locket, was slowly playing the gentle yet sad melody I had come to love. I listened to the tune with an expressionless face, lost in memories, memories that average six year olds neither didn't and shouldn't have, memories filled with blood, suffering, sorrow, and death.

_Memento of you_

_One-chan, is the __locket_

_That you gave to me_

_Filled with memories of our_

_Sorrow__, death, horror._

_But also stories of joy,_

_Trust, hope and laughter._

When the tune ended, I twisted the small key that was on the side of the locket. When I had twisted the key a couple of turns, I let go of it and the tune started to play again.

'_I have to stay awake… if I fall asleep, I won't wake up again…'_

It felt like I had been there for an eternity, I had lost count of time completely. But it didn't matter anymore did it? I was going to die sooner or later anyway, whether she wanted it to happen or not, and I knew it. But right now, I _didn't_ want that to happen, not yet, so I kept myself awake.

_Sleep isn't coming to me,_

_Death hasn't yet come._

_Will I live a life?_

_Without__ death, sleep… without you?_

_Alone, forever alone._

I opened my eyes to face the burning house in front of me, trying to ignore the snow that fell from the sky and landed in my eyes, were they melted and fell down my cheeks like tears. But I wasn't crying. I didn't have any tears left. My grey hollow eyes gazed dully into the flames, its flickering light hypnotizing me. My long obsidian hair was fanning out behind me. The dancing light from the fire that was slowly destroying what had been my home for several months cast its light on my pale expressionless face, my torn and bloodied kimono and was making the two, bloodied katanas I hugged to my chest shimmer with a reddish glow. The midnight black sheaths lay next to me in the snow, which was dyed red from the blood that came from numerous deep cuts on my small body.

A few metres away from me were another person laying still in the snow, a woman, also covered in blood.

She looked like the exact opposite of me.

Her hair was platinum blonde; mine was midnight black.

The woman's clothes were bright pink, mine almost completely black.

Her skin was slightly tanned, mine was ghostly white.

I was merely six years old, she was an adult.

I was alive, she wasn't.

Her green eyes were just as hollow and dead as my pale grey ones were, but her body, mind and soul were dead for real.

Even though there were many differences between us, the woman was my oka-san.

I knew that oka-san was the one in the snow; I also knew that she was dead, yet I wasn't crying for her, I wasn't mourning her, in fact if I would felt anything about the situation; it would be pride and relief.

Why should I cry for her?

After all, I was the one who killed her.

The blood on the katanas belonged to my mother.

The pride would be that I had accomplished something not many people can do.

The relief would be that she had gotten rid of my tormentor.

My expression didn't change, not even once. It was like the pain and the coldness from the snow couldn't reach me. I just kept my hollow gaze focused on the burning house in front of me, ignoring the corpse in the snow, not even flinching. At least the _physical_ pain, the one from my wounds couldn't reach me. However…even though my body was numb, my mind and my emotions were still working perfectly.

At first, the cold had made my small frame shake uncontrollably, and my severely burned legs had been on fire with pain. I had been running too fast, even though I shouldn't. But it wasn't like I had had a choice, it was more like 'run or get killed'. I had preferred life then. Now I wasn't sure if fate would care about what I preferred.

But that felt so long ago. As time passed, I became numb. I didn't feel any pain from my legs anymore; in fact, I didn't feel anything at all. Well, that's a good thing, ne?

_She _had poured boiling water over my legs, so I wouldn't be able to run away, making me an easy target. But I had escaped her, I escaped oka-san anyway… but I wouldn't have made it if Miyako hadn't protected me…

'_Miyako-nee-chan… why did you step in the way? Why? If you hadn't, you would have lived… Nee-chan, you're such a baka…'_

I was still wearing the same clothing as I wore only a few hours ago at the new-years dinner, the same kimono Nee-chan gave me this very morning. I remembered that I had been happy and exited about the fireworks then. Was I still the same person as I was then? Would I even care about fireworks at all in the future, if there were any future for me that is. It certainly didn't feel like I would. What a stupid thing to get exited over. It was just some colourful explosions in the sky.

These last few hours, I had transformed into a completely different person. The girl I was now could never laugh again, could never feel again. I didn't even feel like six anymore, I felt so much older now. I couldn't go back.

It didn't feel like a few hours ago at all to me, more like a past life, a different person's life, or a dream I had long ago that was hard to remember.

I wanted to believe that it was a dream so bad. However, the blood that was splattered on my kimono, told a different story. It was the proof that it wasn't all a nightmare; I wasn't going to wake up and see Nee-chan look at me with worried eyes. I could almost hear her concerned voice, like all those other nights I had woke up screaming in my bed.

"_You poor thing you had a bad dream again, didn't you? You don't have to tell me about it if you don't want to. Don't worry, it was only a dream… Come here, I'll sing you to sleep…"_

But I would never be calmed down again by the lullaby that Nee-chan used hum while holding me close. Yes, she hummed it; she had said that there weren't any words. I thought that was a good thing, because that made it sound different every time I heard it. When I was sad, the melody was comforting. When I was tired, it was soothing, lulling me into sleep.

My locket played the same lullaby, so I played it now, over and over again. But all it could do was keeping me awake; it couldn't comfort me like Nee-chan's voice could.

She had become like an older sister, and now she was gone... if only I hadn't moved in with Nee-chan, oka-san wouldn't have found me with her, Nee-chan wouldn't have protected me and then she would still be alive!

I closed my eyes. _'…Why? What could she possibly gain for doing such a thing? Why couldn't oka-san leave us alone?'_

Memories flashed before my eyes.

_***__flashback***_

_I__ had run away from oka-san several months ago, even though I had nowhere to go. When I ran away, I hadn't any time to pack anything, and it was only pure luck that oka-san had forgotten to lock the door that lead to the basement, and she was out long enough for me to sneak out. I had somehow managed to sneak out soundlessly even though my body was bruised. There was no time for planning, no time to take care of bruises, no time for packing._

_I __had realised long ago that if I wanted to be free, I would have to get out of the house and run fast, even if I couldn't bring anything with me. Freedom comes first._

_But when I came outside the house, I didn't know what to think. It was beautiful. I had never seen something as beautiful as the sun before. Its light was sharp, painful, but I couldn't stop myself from looking at it. My eyes watered and I reminded myself that I had to get away fast, before oka-san noticed that I was gone. My legs began to move, faster and faster and I loved every second of it. The wind was blowing the same direction as I was running, towards the sun, as if it was guiding me, encouraging me to move faster and faster. I never stopped running. Somewhere in the back of my head, I briefly wondered how that was possible, but I had pushed the thought aside. As long as I could get away from oka-san, I didn't care I my body was doing strange things._

_But since __I had no food or water with me, I had collapsed on the road from dehydration and lack of food after two days. I still found it hard to believe that people should be able to run non stop for two days._

_That was where Nee-chan found me. _

_When __I first saw Nee-chan, the first things I noticed about her were her short, messy purple hair, her dark, almost black skin, and how strange she was dressed. I was very fascinated at this; I had never seen anyone that looked like that before. _

_A__fter all, I had lived my entire life in the basement, and the only person I've ever met was oka-san, and she only wore really bright colours, the kind that makes your eyes sting. But Nee-chan was so different; she was wearing black head to toe and even around her eyes, and had a broad studded belt hanging loosely around her hips, and a black leather bracelet around her wrist. On her feet was a pair of black sneakers._

_Miyako just picked me__ up in her arms and carried me to her house, where she fed me, gave me water and put me to bed. She didn't even ask my name._

_Well, it's not like she would get an answer to the question "__What's your name?" anyway, it's not like I have one. _

_I __don't know why Nee-chan took me in, but I'm grateful that she did. She became like an older sister for me. She had cared for me, argued with me, laughed with me, cried with me… and for some reason, I always felt secure around her. She was like a mountain; it was like nothing could bring her down or get her out of balance. If burglars broke in to her house, she'd probably knock them unconscious with the oh-so heavy I-was-made-to-be-whacking-people-in-the-head-and-cause-them-tremendous-pain frying pan._

_I was relieved that she didn't ask any uncomfortable questions, like why my body had so many scars and bruises, why I was on the road half unconscious, or things about my past. When I asked her why, she had just shrugged and said; _

"_Everyone has a past. If you don't want to talk about it, that's okay__, they are your memories and you decide what happens with them. The past is in the past, you shouldn't dig it up again if it's painful, just because someone else is being nosy. You should only bring up happy memories, because that will make you remember and treasure those memories even more…" she paused. "Hey, let's make dinner, I can't sit here and rant all night! How about suki yaki? Or would you rather have oden?" _

_For some reason, __Nee-chan seemed to like to treat me almost like a doll sometimes. When she wasn't working in the flower shop in the village, that lay about a kilometre or two away from the house, she was pampering me in different ways, fussing over things like if I was dressed warmly enough, if I had enough friends and suggested that I should walk over to the neighbour and play with their kids._

_She didn't stop until I calmly reminded her that it was august, so I wouldn't need the four extra jackets and scarves she wanted me to wear, and that the closest neighbours were at least one kilometre away, and that I'd rather be with Miyako anyway. Those were the pampering moments._

_But in the dolly moments, she treated me like a dress up doll. It was fun, mostly, but sometimes I sneaked away, __because after a few hours it had lost its charm. _

_One time, __I hadn't been observant enough to sneak away when the dreadful "pampering gleam" appeared in Nee-chan's stormy grey eyes. Like I said earlier, there were two kinds of them, one was the 'omg-I'm-so-worried-and-are-you-sure-you-don't-need-an-extra-jacket'- gleam, and number two was the 'AW!-you're-so-cute-I-have-to-dress-you-up-NOW'- gleam. This time, it was number two. The gleams weren't rare, so I was only startled but not surprised when Nee-chan suddenly snatched my hand and dragged me into her bedroom, bursting out something like "Ne! Let's try on my old clothes on you!"_

_Gone were my torn __white, now grey skirt, my bright pink blouse that I deeply loathed (it used to be oka-san's), my white sandals and my baby blue cardigan which I also disliked greatly. I was now wearing something that was very similar to what Miyako was wearing. I had never worn so much black before. I was wearing a black tank top, a black pair of knee length jeans, black sneakers, she had even changed my hair, I had bangs now and it was now in a long braid on my back. The only thing that was colourful on me was two dark purple streaks in my hair, which was also courtesy of Miyako. They came down to my jaw, framing my face._

_I was happy that she cared, even if she sometimes cared a bit too much._

_B__ut what I was happiest about, was that for the first time in my life, I wasn't called worthless or filthy, I hadn't been kicked to the floor or beaten unconscious, I didn't cry myself to sleep on the floor in a corner of the basement. I was greeted with a smile instead of harsh words and punches, for the first time… I felt appreciated, wanted… loved._

_I had never thought that __oka-san would search for me; I never thought that she would find me. I always thought that she didn't care. Maybe she would be happy that I was gone. Oh, how wrong I was…_

_The __night everyone gets a new beginning, my and Miyako's lives fell apart. The night everyone is exited over the fireworks, we fought for our lives. It happened on New Years Eve._

_I__ had never celebrated new years before, so I didn't have a kimono. I had thought I would have to wear my normal clothes._

_But Miyako had thought of that, because when __I woke up that morning, there was a neatly folded kimono on the chair next to my bed. _

_On top of it was a silver locket with a thin silver chain and a note. _

_I__ am only six, and oka-san hadn't really cared about my education, so when I came to Miyako, I couldn't even spell my own name. Well, I don't have one, but you get the idea. When Miyako found out, she started to teach me. I still can't read that well, but the message on the note was short and had big, bold letters, so I had no trouble understanding it._

'_**HOPE YOU LIKE IT.**_

_**LOVE, MIYAKO'**_

_I __was stunned. No one had ever given me anything before. Sure, it was New Years Eve tonight and I had a small hope that I might receive a present from Miyako… _

…_But a kimono!? Miyako weren't poor, but she wasn't exactly rich either, and kimonos must be so expensive!_

_I__ reached out a small hand, slowly letting it slide across the smooth silk carefully, almost afraid that it would fall apart if I just looked at it, or that it would turn out that I imagined it all, and it would disappear. _

_It was beautiful._

_It was black with a beautiful silver willow on it with a shimmering, swirling dark purple mist surrounding it. Above it was a myriad of stars; some of them were shooting stars. The obi was dark purple, with a hint of indigo, coloured with a beautiful silver snowflakes scattered on it with big black swirls in the background. _

_When I__ was certain it wasn't my imagination, I let go of it and turned my gaze to the locket. I picked it up. It was just as beautiful as the kimono, and it was big enough to fit in my small palm. It was oval shaped and a little rounded. The front had a snowflake carved into it. On the side was a small, small key. I tried to remove the key from the locket, I wanted to examine it closer, but it wouldn't budge, so I tried twisting it instead. To my surprise, it went around more than once. Maybe it wasn't supposed to open the locket? I kept twisting the small key, but soon I got bored and let go. To my surprise, the locket started to play a gentle, but sad tune. It was a music box! I recognised the melody, it was the one Miyako used to sing me to sleep with, when I woke up from nightmares. _

_I__ found it hard to believe. They were fore me. _Me_. _

_Later, I__ knocked Miyako over when glomped/ hugged her, Miyako let out a yelp, and we landed on they floor with a loud BANG. Glomping was actually very uncharacteristic for me, all Miyako's overprotective mother hen moments had made me a rather calm and collected person. No wonder she was surprised._

"_I suppose you like it then?" Miyako__ said as she let out her barking laughter. I nodded into her tank top, letting out a muffled "Hai, Miyako-nee-chan! Arigato!"_

"_It used to be mine when I was a little bit older than you, and I have always been quite tall for my age, so I'm pretty sure it's too big for you though. You okay with that?" I nodded._

"_Great. It's not that big deal actually; you can adjust the length under the obi, so you won't trip when you're walking. But I don't know what to do about the sleeves though."_

"_That's alright,__ I think it's prettier with long sleeves anyway."_

_She__ showed me how to put it on and how to tie the obi. It was really hard, and the complicated knot seemed to take hours to learn. But in the end, I learned how to put it on by myself, and even though it didn't look perfect, I felt pretty for the first time in my life._

_No one had ever cared about my looks before. Sure, oka-san gave me the few clothes I had before, but they were only the ones she didn't want to wear anymore, so they were always too big, or very torn. She hadn't cared about my hair either, so that's the reason it had grew so long._

_But now… I was…pampered.__ Not too much (like when she got that gleam of hers in the eyes) and not too little (like when I lived with oka-san). And I liked it, very much. _

_We __had had a delicious New Years dinner, just the two of us, filled with jokes and laughter. After the dinner, it was really late, and Miyako tried to make me go to bed. But I put on the puppy eyes, begging to see the fireworks. Miyako didn't stand a chance against the almighty puppy eyes with their almightiness. Miyako put the kettle on, so we could drink tea when we finished watching the fireworks._

_We went outside, and the fireworks had just started to explode in the sky above __the village a few kilometres away. I was glad Miyako's house lay on a hill, it made it possible to see very far, at least in the direction the village lay in. On the back and on the sides, the forest hid the view. The beautiful explosions in the sky drenched all the sounds from the forest. _

_Perhaps the intruder waited till this night, so that the loud noise would mask her presence. I don't know. Suddenly she was just there, right in front of us. _

"_Pardon me for intruding, but I've come to fetch or kill my brat. It depends on how she behaves" oka-san bowed in mock politeness, a sugary smile plastered on her face, a twisted smile that didn't reach her eyes, hands on her back. Then she saw Miyako, who had placed herself in front of me protectively. I know she only meant well, but being unable to see what was going on unnerved me even more._

"_Who the hell are you, and what the fuck are you doing __on my property?!" Miyako barked._

"_Now, now, no need to shout.__ And mind your language, there's a child present, remember?" She said waving a disapproving finger mockingly in front of Miyako's nose. She turned her cold green eyes to my fearful grey ones._

"_So you haven't told her about your own about your oka-san, brat? Shame on you, I thought I brought you up better than that. I think I need to teach you some discipline. How does a good old beating sound, hm? Kind of nostalgic, ne? It makes me remember all the good times we had in the basement… you, me and a baseball bat…"she sighed dreamily, as if she was recalling a wonderful memory. I felt my stomach twist itself into a knot._

"_Shut up and get out, you bitch! You're getting __her over my dead body!" Miyako growled, as she grabbed my hand and went inside._

_She slammed the door close and grabbed the wacking-people-in-the-head-frying pan in the kitchen just in case. _

"_She's the one who gave you all those scars and bruises, isn't she?" Miyako growled. _"_Well, she isn't staying, that's for sure! I'm going out there." _

_With that she turned around and was just about to open the door when __oka-san kicked it open._

_She eyed the frying pan and sneered. __"That won't work on me, you pathetic excuse of a thinking creature. Just hand over the brat already, I miss my toy."_

"_Like I said before, you're getting h__er over my dead body. Bring it, bitch!"_

_I felt myself__ stiffen. "No… please, don't fight nee-chan. I'll go with her, just please don't fight her!"_

_What was __meant to be a scream came out as a whisper; it was like my voice didn't work. If Miyako heard me, she ignored what I said, because she didn't put down the frying pan._

_But I knew what oka-san was capable of. She was strong, much stronger than she looked. _

"_Is that so?__ Over your dead body, huh?" she raised a brow "Well, don't you worry, that can easily be arranged." _

_She__ removed one of her hands from her back to reveal an unsheathed katana. _

"_Surprise!" she__ squealed happily, as she cut Miyako's head off._

_Miyako__ didn't even have time to gasp. It was over before any of us had any time to react. No last words, no counter attack, nothing. From my place behind Miyako, I saw how the katana went through Miyako's neck and came out on the other side. The blood was cascading out of her neck as her limp body fell to the floor, landing with a dull thud. _

_The blood was everywhere, everywhere, splattering on my face, my kimono, the walls, the floor… the splashing sounds it made as it landed on the surfaces were truly sickening. _

_I let out a scream of pure horror as her severed head landed in my hands. Her surprised and horrified expression, her empty, hollow eyes that used to be so stormy grey, so full of life, were now a dull shade of grey that only spoke of death. It would never have the dreadful pampering gleam anymore. _

_Ironic, isn't it? _

_Only a few days ago, I would have praised the heavens for escaping the pampering gleam for the rest of my life. Now I missed it more than ever. It was a part of nee-chan. It was gone, lost forever, just as she was. _

_Her blood that ran out of her head floated out on my hands, so warm, so warm…__dripping down on the floor, creating a small puddle of fresh blood._

_The smell of it was filling my nostrils, drowning every other smell, making my head spin. I felt my knees buckle as I sank to the floor, landing in the blood puddle. _

"…_nee-chan…" I fought back the bile that rose in my throat. The smell of blood was almost making me vomit. _

"_Miyako__-nee-chan…?" I whispered, disbelieving what I've just seen. Miyako couldn't be dead, she couldn't be… she was always strong, so tough, so… secure. She was my stability, my mountain! Mountains can't die! _

_T__ime was frozen. Somewhere in the distance I could hear oka-san's shrill, sadistic laughter. I threw my small arms around Miyako's head hugging it to my face, not caring that her blood was smearing my face and ruining the precious kimono she had given me. The lump in my throat was almost suffocating me, my tears blinding me, my mind screaming for her to come back, to be alive, to be near…_

"_Awww, how touching…" __oka-san's sarcastic voice brought me back to reality._

_That__. Was. It. I was fed up. I whipped the tears away from my face angrily, and stood up._

"_Shut up!" __I screamed at the top of my lungs, revenge and rage was all I knew. _

"_Shut up, shut up, shut up!!! You are nothing compared to Miyako-nee-chan! Don't you dare to make fun of her! Nee-chan didn't have anything to do with this and she didn't even have a real weapon! But you, you just had to kill her, didn't you!? You are just a fucking coward! I hate you!" _

_I__ was a little weirded out with the fact that I was _proud_ to have said, well, screamed my first 'bad word', and even more that I was thinking about such things in this situation._

"_So I'm a coward__ am I? You know, I was going to let you live, but now I think I'm going to kill you too. But to prove that I'm not a coward, you can have a katana too."_

_She removed her other hand from her back to reveal another katana__, which she handed to me. Before I had any time to react, she had grabbed the teakettle, which stood forgotten on the stove, and threw the boiling water all over my legs. Pain shot up through my legs, making me scream. My legs were on fire, I couldn't even stand, and I fell to the floor holding my legs tight to my chest, rocking back and forth while screaming and crying._

"…_But that doesn't mean I will go easy on you…" she __smiled innocently, green eyes sparkling._

_I__ lay on the floor in a heap, one small hand grasping the hilt of the katana. I shakily rose to my feet, whimpering as the pain in my legs increased, making me wish that I didn't have legs at all. _

"_My, my, I'm so _very_ impressed", oka-san sighed happily, sarcasm dripping from each word. "My little brat, in her first swordfight, and with mommy at that! Now isn't that cute? Some quality-time with mommy…" _

_I ignored __her sickening sugary voice, and tried to keep standing up without falling to the floor again. If I just pretended to be unharmed, maybe I would forget the searing pain that seemed to eat me away from the inside, Miyako's dead body, her and my own blood on my face and kimono… No!_

_I shook my head. I will _not_ think about it! It's just a pretend-game, it's _not_ real. It's just pretend, it's only pretend, it's pretend, just pretend…_

_I__ steadied my grip on the katana, and charged at her. I was too slow, too clumsy, and she blocked the attack with provoking ease, and made a deep cut in my side with the katana, then sending me back to the floor with a kick at my new wound. _

_I gritted my teeth so hard__ I thought I would break my teeth, just so I wouldn't scream. I would _not_ give her that pleasure. But I couldn't stop the tears that started to well up. Why couldn't I be stronger, faster… better? Why did I have to be so weak, so fragile? Was this really the best I could do? But I couldn't just give up either… could I? _

"_Just give up and die already, you're six, what can you possibly do?" she __giggled and flipped back her long blonde hair, seemingly enjoying every second of this._

_I tried to ignore that pain in my side that felt like fire, and tried to stand up again. A tear silently slid down my cheek. I knew that I would be dead soon._

_Oka-san__ lazily walked over to me and bended the katana out of my grasp. _

"_Well, it is obvious isn't it? You can't fight me, because you're weak, not to mention pathetic." she yawned. "Whoa, it's really getting late isn't it? You know what? I think it's time for you to go to sleep. In fact, I don't think you should wake up. Ever." She smiled sweetly, and raised the katanas for the final blow._

_It felt like __time froze. I had closed my eyes, not wanting to see the katanas penetrate my body and end my life. Memories of me together with Miyako flooded through my head, the only happy memories I had. Miyako had done so much for me, and she had even sacrificed her life, just to save me! She wouldn't have wanted it to be in vain. She would have wanted me to live, to create new memories, and maybe even make friends._

_Suddenly __I felt the craving urge to live, with every pore of my body, I didn't want to die. I wanted to live, I had a bloody __right__ to live and no one was going to take that right away from me! No one! I felt my hatred, six years of pure hatred towards oka-san come to life and rise, grow within me, pulse through my veins and something else… a strange feeling, it made me feel strong, powerful, and secure. _

_Maybe… I__ can use this power? The very second the thought passed through my head, I knew I could. I tried to concentrate the feeling to my hands, and found that it worked. I suddenly got an idea. But to do that, I'd have to make it sharper… I concentrated on the feeling in my hands and it soon changed to something that felt like razor-sharp knives with the sharp edges turned out from my hands, like a hedgehog. I giggled softly at the mental image despite my situation. Heh, hedgehog hands… _

_Suddenly__ time returned to normal, and just as oka-san was about to kill me with the katanas, I suddenly noticed that my hands were surrounded by something that looked like black fire. I stomped down my surprise, and took my glowing, sharp hands and grabbed oka-san's ankles, effectively cutting of her heel sinews. Blood splattered out on the floor from her ankles, and now it was her turn to fall to the ground, screaming in pain. _

"_You fucking brat!__ I'm gonna fucking kill you! Aargh! " Oka-san's voice wasn't sugary anymore, it was rough, hoarse and filled with anger. 'So this is what you really sound like…' I thought. _

_I__ continued with my plan, ignoring oka-san's loud cursing, and crawled over to Miyako and grabbed the large frying pan that still was in her hand. Then I hit it in oka-san's head hard, over and over and over, pouring all my hatred, all my sorrow and fury into the each hit, silencing her screaming. "This is for all you've done to me in the basement!" I screamed as I hit her hard in the back of her head. "This is for existing!" I kicked her hard in the stomach, well aware of that she couldn't hear me, but I didn't care. "And this, this is for killing Nee-chan!!!" I roared, and stepped hard on her face, crushing her nose. _

_She had died long ago, but I kept stepping on her face, enjoying every second of ruining her face, crushing her, soaking her in blood. It took a while for me to realise that she was dead._

_It felt almost surreal to __me. I had always thought of her as a strong, scary person that no one could ever beat to the ground, and absolutely not kill. Yet… I did. And it felt good, it felt oh so good, I felt so powerful… I had enjoyed each punch and each kick I had delivered to her body, in fact, I enjoyed it so much that I wanted to do it again, and again and again… _

_I__ suddenly realized what I was thinking. 'No… I'm becoming just like her...!' I quickly erased all thoughts of killing from my mind. 'I need a reminder, or else I will just start thinking like that again… I don't think Miyako would be proud of me if I killed people…' my gaze turned to the katanas. 'They can be my reminder… _

_I__ stepped forward. _

"_I don't think you'll need these anymore… so they're mine now." I took the katanas away from her hands and turned my back against her. _

_Suddenly __I felt very tired. The wonderful feeling of power was gone, along with my fury. All that was left inside me was a dark emptiness. I felt so hollow, so numb, so completely drained. So much had happened, and I didn't want to deal with cleaning up right now, or burying the dead women that lay in the living room, didn't want to think about the fact that I had done something unforgivable, something so sinister as to kill… and enjoyed it._

"_You know what __oka-san?" I said softly. "Going to sleep might not be so bad after all..." I yawned and stretched, but winced when the pain from before came back full force. 'It must have been numbed when I was angry, somehow…' I thought a little confused._

_Just when __I was about to go to my room, I heard a loud 'poof' behind me. I whipped around; just to see the place oka-san's dead body was was surrounded by smoke. I breathed in sharply and had a coughing fit as I tried to wave away the strange smoke. When it was gone, I wondered if I was imagining things. _

'_Is dead people really supposed to turn into logs__…!?'_

"_Heh, not bad brat, not bad… already using chakra, mommy is _so_ proud of you..." I froze. I'd recognise that voice anywhere… "Now, how about we continue were we left off, hm?" _

'_No…' __I thought frantically. 'She… she was alive!?' Eyes wide in horror and with my mind in chaos, I ran out of the door the fastest I could, my long black hair whipping around me. I ran the fast as I could, which wasn't that fast considering how hurt I was. I didn't care that I wasn't wearing any shoes, I didn't care that it was December and I was only wearing a thin silk kimono. I wanted to live, to get away from oka-san, away from the nightmare, away from everything…_

_Oh the bitter irony of it all, it was just like when I ran away all those months ago; no time for packing, no time for taking care of wounds. Freedom comes first. _

_I only made it about fifty metres before my legs gave in. _

"_Stupid body, why won't you move!?" I was so frustrated I felt like crying. I shakily rose to my feet, the blood loss making my head spin._

_From__ the house, I heard oka-san's voice. _

"_You're not getting away that easy, brat__. I may not be able to walk, but still got my supply of jutsus…" she snickered as she dragged herself outside with her arms. _

"_Katon: housenka no jutsu!" she shouted, and suddenly fireballs were chasing me. I dropped to the ground, the katanas in a steady grasp. The fireballs missed me, but they put the forest on fire, and it went from a serene forest to a roaring inferno in the blink of an eye. I watched the fire spread and within seconds, the entire forest was on fire. But it didn't stop there. It had spread to the house. My home was burning to the ground, and there was nothing I could do about it._

"_No…"__ my whisper wasn't even audible over the roar form the fire. Miyako was still in there, burning together with our home. The thought of her body being eaten away by the flames made tears well up in my eyes. I wouldn't even get the chance to bury her. I could never even put flowers on her grave. I'd never see her again. Now she was really gone, not even her body was left. I had lost everything. _

_Nee-chan was dead, I had no home, everything I owned except my kimono__ and my locket was gone, destroyed by the fire. I was truly alone._

_The lump in my throat grew larger, __refusing to leave. First now, the thought that I'd have to take action came to me. _

'_I can't just stand here and let her do all these things to me! I have to do __something!'_

'_Okay, think. I need to figure out what to do… the village is too far away, and I'm in no shape for running, the closest neighbour is too far away, if I scream for help, the fireworks will drown the sound, there's no one near who can help me… but what can _I_ do?' _

_I suddenly realised what it was in my hands. Two, very sharp katanas. I knew what I had to do. And that knowledge actually made me smile, a cruel, sadistic smile. I would get to kill her again. I would have my revenge. Twice. Lucky me._

'_Okay… her strength is her fire…uh… things… her weakness is that she can't walk. __I have to be fast…'_

_I rose to my feet, and winced as I realised my own weaknesses; I was badly hurt, losing blood fast and my legs were in no shape of running. _

'_I don't have a choice. I have to do this. For Miyako… and for me. And if I don't kill her… she will without a doubt kill me.'_

_I __ran at her, gritting my teeth so I wouldn't scream from the pain in my legs. Oka-san shouted something that sounded like 'Katon: goukakyu no jutsu' and a big fireball was coming straight at me. I ran to the left, barely dodging the fireball, and then started to run in a zick-zack pattern, making it easier to dodge the fireballs she sent flying towards me. I was getting closer now._

_My legs were protesting at the treatment they were receiving,__ but I ignored them. I had to._

_I readied the katanas, one in each hand, in a steady grip. They were heavy and too long for me, but they were the only weapons I had. I was close enough now. I dropped to my knees and drew the katana in my right hand in a wide sweep across her abdomen; she blocked it with a strange looking knife, but she didn't expect me to move the other katana in my left hand in a stabbing motion. To be honest, neither did I, my body seemed to move at its own accord. She dodged it, but only barely. I don't know how she could move that fast when she was stuck on the ground like that. _

"_My, my, aren't you just pathetic? I'm not even using jutsus, you've got two katanas, I'm on my knees in the snow, and you still can't harm me in any way!" she snickered. "And here I thought that you might not be completely worthless, but I guess I was wrong__, ne…? I wasn't even that great in the academy either! I didn't even graduate as a genin, some bullshit about teamwork… oops! You're not supposed to know that! Oh, well. You'll die soon enough anyway." Her arrogant smirk made my insides boil. How _dared_ she…!_

_Anger rose within me. I wasn't worthless. I knew I wasn't. __If anyone was, it was her! She had destroyed everything I held precious to my heart, and then had the guts to stand here and insult me! She had a lower value than trash! And what the hell was "the academy" anyway? And what was a "genin"?_

_I gri__tted my teeth and tried to fight back the rage that made my insides feel like a stormy ocean, my head spin and most importantly, it was making it harder to concentrate on holding the katanas up straight. They really were heavy, and my sword fighting was bad enough as it was._

_Then I remembered what had happened last time I had gotten this angry, this very evening. I remembered the wonderful feeling of power, the strength and sharpness of it, the black glow around my hands… _

_If I could use that, just one more time, I could maybe… maybe kill her…_

_I started to search for the feeling within me. What had oka-san called it? Chakra__…? What a strange name of something so wonderful… it didn't seem to fit the amazing feeling of power, strength at all…_

_I kept searching for my… chakra… while I fought with the katanas at the same time. It wasn't easy. Where had it gone? Why wouldn't it come out again? I was getting desperate. Without chakra I wouldn't have any chance against oka-san at all!_

_I went deeper in my search, went deeper within myself.__ I resisted the urge to squeeze my eyes shut in concentration. If I did, I would be dead meat._

'_Come on, come on… please! I have to find it!' _

_When I was almost ready to give up, t__here was a spark of black light._

'_Found it!'_

_I __focused it to my hands, but didn't stop there. I brought it further out, out on my fingertips, beyond them and out on the katanas. It was sweaty, and I felt that it was going to take quite a toll on me, especially since I wasn't in tip top shape… _

_B__ut what choice did I have?_

_So I continued. Small beads of sweat started to appear on my brow,__ and it felt like my cuts hurt even more now, but I ignored it and focused on making the chakra on the katanas sharp, sharper than any metal ever could be, sharp on all sides. I made it spread beyond the katanas like an aura, razor-sharp as a knife. _

_Suddenly I lost control of my body completely. It felt like someone else was moving my limbs for me. Maybe it was __my instincts that took control over my body, I don't know. All I know is that I had never moved so fast before. My arms felt lighter than ever, as did the katanas. _

_My arms started__ to move the katanas in complicated rapid patterns on their own, gracefully tearing oka-san's defence down as if it was made of thin paper. Her confident, arrogant smirk slowly started to disappear, being replaced by a look of disbelieve and horror. _

_My legs and my feat began to move too. I was circling her, my arms and legs moving gracefully, creating a rapid, lethal dance. __The long kimono sleeves flowed in the air, my obi flowing behind me. I was a dancer who killed. No, I was a marionette, a puppet. After all, I wasn't the one in control._

_Still, __I felt my pride roar in satisfaction, and something I would later know was bloodlust began to grow within me. I wanted to tear her apart, limb by limb, rip her open letting all her body fluids flow freely onto the snow. I wanted her to suffer as much as possible. I wanted her to feel the pain she had made me feel all those years in the basement, where no one heard my cries for help, where she ignored my begs for her to stop, where she, while smiling that sickening sugary smile, hit me until I was unconscious, where I almost lost the will to live, hadn't it been for that day I managed to escape…_

_Somewhere, my mind registered that __oka-san was screaming, begging me to spare her life, whimpering that it hurt, whining like a stray dog as her blood splattered on the snow, dying it crimson and I loved every second of it. The blood, her begging for mercy, the revenge… a part of me knew that I was going crazy but I just couldn't bring myself to care._

_My mind suddenly registered what I had done to her. It was impossible to recognise her face now, it had too many cuts. Her annoyingly bright pink clothes were now torn; well it was more like rags now and they were completely soaked with her blood. 'Pretty colour…' I noted absentmindedly. _

_Her left side was ripped open, and I could actually see the bones in her ribcage. _

'_How strange… I don't remember doing all that…'_

_My eyes darkened as I spoke._

"_Ne, oka-san? You said that you were tired earlier, right?" my voice came out soft and controlled, with a sinister undertone in it._

"_What the hell has that to with anything, you fucking brat!?" she screeched. _

"_Well, it's just that I agree with you there. It _is _late. I'm not tired, but it seems like you are, so sleep. And I don't think you should wake up."_

_I ran the katana in my right hand through her chest. Her eyes widened and she coughed up blood._

"_You fucking bitch…"_

_The last words of my mother were not big, not impressive, just a spontaneous reaction to my behaviour. And I __couldn't bring myself to give a damn._

_*** _

I felt empty, dead inside. What did it matter if I wanted to live? My chances of surviving weren't exactly big… come to think of it, why even bother living? Nee-chan, the only one that cared at all, was gone. I wanted her back, more than anything. I know that nee-chan wanted me to live. But…

'_But what do _I_ want? What do I have to live for? Is there even a chance for me to survive at all? _

_Nee-chan used to tell me stories about princesses that got rescued by knights in shining armour, and lived happily ever after… maybe someone will come and save me too, even though I'm not a princess? _

…_But even if I'm saved, get my wounds healed and a second chance at life… what will I do then? Where will I live? What will I eat? Who will tell me stories of princesses and knights in shining armour, or sing lullabies for me when I'm having nightmares?_

… _Somehow, I don't think I'll live happily ever after…'_

I felt the now familiar lump grow in my throat, tears threatening to fall, and the cold, hard grip on my heart tightened painfully.

'_No, I won't cry…only weaklings cry. Nee-chan died because I was a weak, crying baby!' _I felt so pathetic, worthless…

'_No! I'm not worthless! I defeated her, I had gotten my revenge. If I can do that, surely I could take care of myself?__ Right…?'_

'_**Ya, you'll do fine, gaki. You've got me, don't **__**you?'**_

I froze. My eyes scanned my surroundings quickly. There was no one there except my mother's corpse. But where did that voice come from? Unless…There was someone inside me?

I felt myself beginning to hyperventilate. That meant, whoever or whatever it was… could kill me from the inside….

'_I have to get it out of me!'_ I grabbed one of the katanas. I hissed sharply in pain as my muscles protested when I lifted it and pointed it towards my chest.

'_I have to get it out, have to get it out, get out, get out, get out,getout,getout, GETOUT!!'_

I brought it down hard, squeezed my eyes shut and braced myself for the blow that never came.

'_I'm not hurt..? But how…?'_ I opened my eyes. I stared in disbelief at the katana in my hand. It had stopped merely a few centimetres from my chest.

'_**Knock it off would you! You should be grateful that I'm here, you now!' **_the voice was slightly miffed.

'_Who are you? What are you talking about? Why are you inside me!?' _I was confused, scared and angry, but I put the katana down.

'_**Fine, fine, just calm down, okay? I'm not too sure who I am, **__**hell, I don't even know my name, all **__**I know is that I was supposed to be reincarnated. Something must've gone wrong somewhere, I mean, now you're schizophrenia and all.'**_

'_Schitzo-what? What's that?'_

'_**Uh, never mind. What I meant with me helping out, I really thought that you would have figured it out by now. Didn't you think it was strange that you could run non-stop for two days? Or that you won your first swordfight without any training at all?'**_

'…_that was you? You were the one who took control over me?_

'_**Yeah, you **__**kind of suck at sword fighting, and if you die, I die, so didn't really have a choice you know. And I was the one who helped you run those days to by the way!'**_

'_But how…? How is that possible?'_

'_**How the fuck should I know?**__** You owe me two favours and a 'thank you'!'**_

'_Oh, well… I guess you're right. Thank you for helping me.'_

'_**Nah, don't mention it. Now I think it's time for you to answer my questions. Who are you? Who was that woman? Why was that woman trying to kill you?'**_

'_Well, the woman was oka-san. She doesn't like me very much, I think she hated me just as much as I hated her, but I don't know why. As for me… I don't know who I am, I don't know where I'm from, I don't know the name of neither my mother nor my father. I don't know my own name. I don't think I have one.'_

'_**We really are alike, huh gaki. We don't know a shit about ourselves.'**_

'…_ne? If… if you don't mind… maybe you could give me a name?'_

'_**Why not? I'm not exactly busy. But in return, I want you to give me a name. Deal?'**_

'_Deal.'_

'_**Hmm… let's see… I wanna pick a name that **__**suits you… do you like flowers?'**_

'_Hai, __nee-chan worked in a flower shop, she taught me about the language of flowers, different sorts of them… and they're really pretty, and they smell good and…'_

'_**Okay, okay I get the message, you like flowers. Any favourites?'**_

'_Well… I like lilies…'_

'_**Hah, well, that's funny. Don't you know that a lily symbolizes death?'**_

'_What? But according to the flower language, a lily means purity, not death.'_

'_**Yeah, but lilies always appear on funerals, so they got to have something to do with death right?'**_

'_Oh. Well, I don't really mind that. Killing is fun.'_

'…_**you are one weird kid, you know that?'**_

'_I don't mind being weird either__. But let's get back to the naming thing.'_

'_**Right. Okay, you need a last name too. What else do you like?'**_

'_I don't know… you can decide for me.'_

'_**Well, you were creepy as hell when you killed your mom, not to mention cold… a lily represents death in my opinion, coldness goes great with that…. Okay I think I've got it.'**_

'_You do? Tell me!'_

'_**Your name is now Fuyuno Yuri, the Lily of Winter. Pretty cool, ne?'**_

'_Yuri… I like that name. Arigato. Now it's your turn. First I just need to know… are you a boy or a girl? I can't tell by your voice.'_

'_**I'm a girl. No, wait, I'm a guy. Yep, I'm definitely a guy. I ...think… uh… Let's just say that I'm a guy, ne? This is just too confusing.'**_

'…_Right. So what do you like?'_

'…_**shiny things, preferably sharp objects.'**_

'…_and you say I'm weird? Okay… shiny… sharp… shiny…sharp… got it.'_

'_**So soon? You're a lot quicker than me. It's not a crappy name, right? Or is that the reason it went so quick?'**_

'…_well, I like it at least. Your name is either Fuyuno Koori or Fuyuno Hari, Ice of Winter or Crystal of Winter.'_

'_**I don't like either of those names, **__**they're so… girly.' **_He shuddered. Well, at least I think he did._** 'Wait a sec, why did you put Fuyuno there? That's your name.'**_

'_Well, you're pretty much the only family I have now, so why not? And by the way, Hari is not that girly, it can mean needle too.'_

'…**needle? And how is that not girly?'**

'_okay, I get it, let me think… how about Fuyuno Shimo? Frost of Winter.'_

'_**That's not very original. I don't like it either.'**_ He whined.

'_Fine! If you're going to be that picky, I'll just call you Touki then.'_ I huffed…thought… whatever.

'…_**.Touki? **__**…Fighting spirit? That's so lame…'**_

'_Well too bad, I'm not picking anything else! It suits you__, I mean, you're a spirit (I think) and you fought for me, so… you're my fighting spirit, right? Welcome to the Fuyuno family, Touki. I suppose that since we're sort of 'born' today, we're twins.'_

'_**Nuh-uh! I'm definitely older!'**_

'_Fine… happy birthday Touki-nii-chan.'_

'_**Same to you, Yuri-imouto-chan**_**.'**

As the conversation ended and silence returned, my thoughts began to turn to things that I didn't really want to think about. My survival.

'_Ne…Touki?'_

'_**Hmm?'**_

'_Do you… do you think we'll survive this?'_

'…_**Do you want me to be nice, or be honest?'**_

'_You decide.'_

'_**Well. In that case,**__** I'll go with honest. Nope. We're dead meat.'**_

I sighed. It wasn't a surprise, far from it actually, but to hear him say it like that… well, it wasn't exactly something I loved to hear. So I turned me ears' attention to my locket instead. The tune had almost ended when I heard running feet. Was help coming? But how cold they've kno- of course! The fire. A forest fire like that was bound to attract the attention of at least someone, right?

I could actually feel a small smile that slowly began to appear on my face. Someone was going to help me. I'd be fine.

I suddenly realised that the tune of my locket had ended, and I began to wind it up again. This time, it served its original purpose and my eyelids became heavier and heavier as I slowly drifted off to sleep, unable to stop myself.

Somewhere far away, I heard upset, shouting voices, and the running feet were coming towards me now. The voices came closer and closer to me, but I couldn't hear what they were shouting about. I felt myself being picked up by strong arms. I looked up into a pair of shocked eyes and a metal plate with a strange symbol on it.

**'**_**It looks like someone has come to save us, ne Yuri…'** _

Then the world became black.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_**Author's note!**_

_**WAHOO!**__** This is my debut at fanfiction! Me ish so pwoud of meself! X3 **_

_**Anyway, this is my first story, so please be nice, okay? I'm completely new at this, and English is not my native language, so it is a little hard for me to describe things, ect. So why don't you give me some suggestions or constructive criticism in your reviews? Flames will be ignored anyway, ooor you'll just get yelled at by me. A lot. ^^**_

_**With each chapter, I will recommend another story, so you have something to read while waiting for updates. **__**I will also answer any questions you might have about my story, as long as their not perverted, because then I will hunt you down wearing a clown-costume, skin you alive with a spoon, cover you in salt and then lecture you about asking perverted questions and flaming peoples stories. ^^**_

…_**.. or not…. You'll just sue my sorry ass all the way to hell, and I like my ass where it is now. **_

_**(mumbles) oh, my precious, precious ass, I won't let them take you….**_

…_**.**_

_**Okay, your' expressions**__** are probably something like: 0.0 right now, so I'll just recommend the story and get the hell out of here before you drag me to the nut-house…**_

_**Here it is**__**!**_

_**Autho**__**ress**_:

_**Draguna Doragon **_

**_Story:_**

_**'**__**A minx, a vixen and a snake'**_

_**Ya be**__**ttah read it, bitches, coz it kicks ass!**_

_**See ya!**_

_**Izuru-sama**_

**REVIEW DAMMIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! .**


	2. Seen as weed and disposed of

_**READ ME, I'M IMPORTANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**_

**It's just this one thing bothering me. Why aren't you reviewing? I know that ****over a hundred of you have read it, some of you even more than once. Is there something with the story that you don't like? You don't have to write much; just **_**one**_** nice word keeps me going. And that takes only like what, a minute?, for you to write. Please, if you don't like the story, then say so. **

_**I'M NOT WORKING ON THIS IF NO ONE IS READING IT!!!!!**_

**_CherryBlossomHaiku, you deserve a freaking parade. You're the only one who reviewed, and for that, you'll get love and cookies from me._**

**_DISCLAIMER: I don't own naruto, coz I'm not some freak that claims to own people like SOME people do!_**

**Anyway, here's the chappie, wrapped up nicely for you.**

**Enjoy. ****:3**

**____________________________________________________________________________________________________**

**Chapter two.**

'**Seen as weed and disposed of'**

**____________________________________________________________________________________________________**

Have you ever fallen off a cliff, rolled down over sharp and pointed rocks, land hard on the ground, have your muscles ripped apart and then get run over by a horse?

If you haven't, there's no way you could ever understand how I felt when I began to slowly wake up.

My head were throbbing with pain, and felt ten times heavier than normal I couldn't think, and it felt like someone was slowly cutting my eyes in thin, thin slices, like you do with cheese. I didn't even dare to open them, afraid that I'd only see darkness, that I'd be blind.

However, my ears had no trouble catching the whispered conversation in the room I was in. It had to be a room, for I was lying in a warm, comfortable bed with soft sheets. I would be quite content being where I was, if only it hadn't been for the people talking about me. They weren't exactly saying things I'd like to hear.

"... and she was completely covered in blood! All of it couldn't have been hers either! And she held two swords too! It must have been she who killed that poor woman…" it was a male voice.

I couldn't believe my ears. That poor woman!? Did they even know what she was like!? Why weren't they impressed by my feat of killing her? I had done my best, I had succeeded and was now free. Why couldn't they see things from my point of view?

"Don't be silly, it couldn't have been her, she's only a child…" this time it was a woman who spoke.

"Yeah, sure, but you've got to remember that a kid can be a monster too. We have the living proof for that right here in Konoha."

I felt a stab of pain in my chest, and it wasn't from any of my wounds, but from his words.

'_Me..? A monster…? How could he just stand there and say that…'_

'_**I wouldn't be too surprised to hear that if I were you.' **_Touki pointed out_. __**'You did kill your own mother.'**_

'_That's not the point!' _I exclaimed. '_She was a horrible person! She had it coming.'_

'_**Most people wouldn't enjoy ripping someone apart.'**_He said cheerfully.

'_Why not?'_

'…'

'_What?'_

'_**I rest my case.'**_

'… _Oh do shut up…'_

If Touki said anything else, I didn't hear it, because my attention was once again turned to the whispering voices.

"You've got a point there. You know, part of the reason I couldn't believe it was her was when I checked her blood group. She had lost quite a bit of blood you see, so I had to check her blood group before I did any transfusion." The woman paused to catch her breath.

I didn't really understand what they talked about, but I had a feeling it was important. I held my breath, not wanting to miss a word.

"Anyway, I checked the woman's blood too, and it turned out they had the exact same blood group! I got curious, and took some blood samples from both of them. Later, when our team came back to Konoha, after we had buried the woman and I had taken care of the girl, I checked their DNA."

"And…?" the man asked.

"They matched. They are close relatives, maybe even mother and daughter. And the blood on the swords belonged to the mother, and another person which we couldn't find, probably died in the fire, but that's irrelevant. The important thing is if it was her, she killed her own mother! And that's just not possible!"

I almost snickered a little at this. She must be so much older than me, but was still so naïve…

"But it has to be her! She was the only one around and the job was clumsily done, so it couldn't have been a ninja."

(Here I heard Touki huff. _**'Clumsy?! ME?!'**_)

"And the blood was too fresh for someone to have done it and escaped," the man continued. "Because then we would have seen him or her. It must've been her, it must've been!'

'Well, you've got a point there… I didn't sense anyone around either, other than her and our team. You really think it could've been her?'

'I've already told you! YES for crying out loud! She's just as bad as that kyuubi brat, a monster! Why are we even helping her? We should have left her in the snow; the likes of her shouldn't be allowed to live!'

It felt like the man had punched me in the stomach. But I couldn't help but to ask myself the same question. If they hated me so much, why did they take care of me?

"I kind of agree with you, but it is hokage-sama's orders. But as soon as she's healed, she's out of the hospital, I can tell you that much."

Hokage… who was that? Obviously it must be someone important, but in what way? If he or she was the one who wanted me to get better, could it be a kind person? Would that person help me more than once, like Miyako-nee-chan did?

I turned my attention back to the conversation, in hope of finding out more about this hokage person.

"So you're going to kick her out on the streets? I can't blame you, I do understand your train of thought, but I don't think hokage-sama will let you."

"No, I think she's going to the orphanage."

The man let out short laugh. "Yeah, well I wouldn't adopt her. But what if the orphanage won't take her in? It wouldn't be a big surprise, but certainly a problem for us."

"How should I know? I guess the Academy would accept her, I mean, she's capable of killing and no one would miss her, she'd be a perfect kunoichi!" the woman laughed scornfully.

I didn't want to hear more of it, and I decided to let them know that I was awake. My eyes fluttered open, and the sharp light made my already sore eyes hurt even more. I narrowed my eyes against the light, and let my gaze search for the man and woman who had talked about me.

What I found was a small white room. I had never seen so much white at once in my entire life, and I didn't like it one bit. The walls were white, the floor was white, and the ceiling was white, the small mirror on the right wall had a white frame, the bed I was laying in was white, as the chair with my clothes next to it and the screen on the left side of the bed.

But I didn't see anyone in the room. However, I could still hear the whispers. They came from the other side of the screen. My confidence got even lower.

'_So, they don't even want to be on the same side of the room as me…'_

It seemed like the only thing that wasn't white in the room was my clothes. They were washed and neatly folded, though they were sadly still very torn. I was surprised to find my katanas leaning on the chair, both cleaned and shiny. Considering what they thought of me, I didn't expect them to let me keep my katanas. But I was glad nevertheless; they gave me a feeling of security. At least I wouldn't be completely defenceless if they decided to get rid of me.

My breath hitched in my throat as I realised that one item was missing. The locket. My precious, precious locket, one of Miyako-nee-chan's two last and only gifts to me was not there. It was gone.

Had they stolen it…? It was after all made of silver, and its construction must be quite complex if it fit a music box in there even though it was so small… I suppose it could be worth a lot. Anger started to boil within me. Did they think I wouldn't notice it was gone…!

But then I felt the cool, metallic surface on my skin, oval shaped and smooth. It had been around my neck all the time. Relief washed over me like a wave of warm water after an ice cold shower.

I decided that I didn't want to lie around in bed all day, so I tried to sit up. That turned out to be a mistake that I regretted immediately. It felt like someone stabbed me and pain shot up through my side, making me want to kick my self for being stupid enough to try to sit up. I let out a sharp hiss and doubled over, gasping for air, trying not to scream.

I guess the good thing was that it made the whispering people aware of that I was awake, which made them stop talking about me.

The woman appeared from behind the screen. The smile that was plastered on her face looked more like a grimace and her black eyes were cold as she laid her gaze on me. I saw her shudder when she looked into my eyes, and for a moment, the mask of a smiling woman was replaced by a look of extreme dislike and a hint of fear. The mask was back in place quickly, but I knew I had seen the change of expression.

I supposed it could have been my eyes, some people (the few I had met) thought that they were strange, something I realised when I went to the village together with Miyako-nee-chan. Her friend Sarichi, who helped out in Miyako's flower shop, was staring at me when Miyako introduced me to her. When I asked her why, she just said that she had never seen anyone with pale eyes before. But she also said that they were sort of pretty, in an odd way. I wasn't sure how to react, so I simply thanked her.

I didn't know why she seemed to like to stare at me so much, until nee-chan and I were on the way home. I saw no one with pale grey, almost white eyes in the village. They all had dark brown or black eyes. Some of the old ladies who had seen me had muttered 'mononoke' under their breath and turned their back towards me.

This woman had the same look on her face as the old ladies in the village had. I got irritated at this. What's the big deal? It's just my eyes for bob's sake!

But what did I know; maybe I was just assuming these things because I had heard her talking about me in that way…

"Ah, I see you're awake. How do you feel?" there was no concern in her question, just strictly professional.

I was suddenly aware of how perfectly she melted in with the room; she was dressed in a white dress, white skin, white rimmed glasses, white shoes, and a stethoscope around her neck.

'_She must be a nurse or a doctor then.'_

Her hair was brown, and went down in two long braids past her shoulders. By her impatient look on her face, I realised that I still hadn't answered her question. She wasn't worried about my wellbeing, but she didn't like being ignored. I decided that I'd be as polite and nice as I could, to prove to her that I wasn't the horrible monster she apparently thought I was.

"Thank you for asking. The wound in my side still hasn't healed yet, but it is getting better. It still hurts when I try to sit up, though. My legs are also better, and I think I'll be able to walk. Um… just wondering… how long was I asleep?"

I kept my voice soft, so I wouldn't seem like some demanding brat. I tried to sound vulnerable and submissive, so she would feel secure around me. But no matter how much I tried, my voice still came out with a malicious undertone, as if I wasn't informing her of my condition, but threatening her.

"I'm glad to hear that you're better." I wondered if she could hear how fake it sounded herself. She almost looked offended that I was better.

"You were asleep for three days." The forced smile she wore was making me shudder. It reminded me to much of someone who also smiled even though she hated me, someone who abused me for almost my entire life up until now, someone who had taken everything away from me, someone I had killed.

"Thank you for taking care of me, miss…?"

'_Damn my voice to hell! I sounded sarcastic and evil again!' _I thought frantically. '_And I've started to swear too!'_

'_**Awww, I'm rubbing off on you. How sweet, you're taking after your big bro**__**! :3' **_Touki gushed.

"My name is none of your business." She bit off. The stiff smile she wore was now long gone, replaced by a look of disgust and… fear?

"I only take care of you because it is my job, so don't get any ideas about me liking you or anything." Her eyes were cold, so very cold.

I could feel my heart sink like a rock in a lake. I had hoped that I'd get a new life, a new beginning, but how could I if people I didn't even know hated me? She didn't even know my name, not that I had one, but the point is that she knew nothing about me, only what I had done. But she didn't know _me, _sohow could she hate me…?

"I see. I'd like to thank you anyway." My voice finally managed to sound soft, submissive, letting her know that she was in charge. But she still looked at me with such distaste.

"Look, I just want to get you healed and out of here, so don't make any fuss." She snapped.

"Hai." I replied quietly.

I flinched as her all but gentle hands gave me numerous injections in various places, she took my blood pressure, and suddenly her hands started to glow a bright green colour. She held her hands over the wound in my side, and I felt a tickling sensation as they slowly began to heal.

"I can't believe I'm wasting my chakra on you." She muttered under her breath.

'_Chakra… is this chakra?' _I was bewildered._ 'But it can't be. Chakra is sharp, dark and is only good for causing pain. This green light is _healing_ me. It can't be chakra. I must've heard wrong…'_

'_**Maybe there are different kinds of chakra, just like there are different kinds of flowers?'**_ Touki suggested.

'_I suppose you're right…'_

I longed for her to leave me alone. I didn't want her to touch me, and did I want her near me at all either. I just wanted to be alone. The nightmare I had somehow managed to live through was constantly haunting me, reminding me of everything I had lost. In the very start, I had had nothing, I had just been living in the basement of oka-san's house, were she occasionally 'played' with me, aka beating me into a bloody pulp.

I had thought that I'd die there. Hope had appeared as an unlocked door, my own running feet, Miyako and a new home. But I had been ripped away from all that by the very same woman who had made my life a living hell from the start.

I wonder if had been better off dying in the basement. To find a better life just to have it taken away from you, just to return to misery, hurt so much more than knowing nothing else but misery from the start.

'_I have no home__ now, nowhere to go… no one cares about me, no friends, no family… I have no one…_

_Who will sing me to sleep when I wake up from nightmares…? Who will cheer me up when I wake up screaming in my bed…? Who will act like a complete idiot around me, just to make me smile…? …No one will. From now on, I'll be completely on my own…'_

'_**Yuri, would you shut up?! You're so mean, how the hell can you just forget me like that!? I'm **__**inside**__** you for crying out loud! And I aint moving, I can tell you that much!'**_

'_Ah, gomen nii-chan…'_

'_**I suppose I could sing you to sleep, but I'm warning you, it won't be pretty!'**_

'_Well in that case, don't.'_

I let out a heavy sigh. Well, there was always that orphanage the woman mentioned, I suppose I could live there… or the academy, whatever that was.

I suddenly realised that the woman was no longer in the room. I looked around, listened carefully just to make sure. There was no one around. I was finally alone.

I grabbed my locket and lifted it to my eye level. I never got tired of studying the beautiful engraved snowflake, it looked like it was really made of thousands of small, small ice crystals, looking like a real snowflake that had happened to land on the locket, ready to fly away again at the smallest gust of wind.

My eyes fluttered shut and I let my index finger trace the thin, elegant lines, enjoying its smooth surface, as if wasn't actually made of metal, but of the finest silk. My fingers found their way to the small, elegant key and began to wind it up.

Soon the sad yet beautiful tune floated out in the room. I hummed together with it, I had forgotten the words, or had it even been any words? I didn't remember. But the familiar melody was enough, it served its purpose. I felt comforted, as if really had been Miyako-nee-chan humming it for me. And then it just clicked.

She was here. In the melody, she was here, comforting me like she used to do whenever I needed it. She would always be here. As long as I remembered her, she'd be here.

A lump started to form in my throat, and it felt like there was an empty space in my chest, like there was something missing, which was strange considering that there was two minds in my body, so there really shouldn't be an empty space left. If anything, it should be crowded.

But it was there, and it hurt so much, as if someone was carving a hole in my chest. I hugged myself to chase the feeling away, but it wouldn't go. Tears began to well up in my eyes, but they didn't fall.

Was she drying my tears? Was she the one who kept me from breaking apart? Was she still with me…? Was nee-chan the one who kept me strong even though she wasn't alive?

'_**Don't leave me out!'**_ Touki exclaimed._** 'I am the one who kept you alive, remember? And I swear to Bob that if you're telling me you're giving up now, so help me…!'**_

'_You're right. I'll be fine. It'll work out somehow. I'll just have to take it step by step.'_ I thought with a small smile on my face. '_Let's begin with that walking, ne Touki-nii-chan?'_

I swinged my legs over the side of the bed, letting my toes land on the floor first, soon followed by the rest of my feet. I tested my weight on them, with a firm grip on the chair were my clothes were. I slowly and reluctantly let go of the chair, testing my balance, which was practically non-existent. But the good thing was it didn't hurt. The woman must have pretty much healed me completely.

'_**Well, she did say she wanted **__**you out of here as soon as possible…'**_I pushed the thought from Touki away the second it appeared. I needed to concentrate on walking, not getting depressed over what random people inside me said to me.

I was incredibly wobbly, and I did my best not to fall on the floor. I was glad that the borrowed night gown I was wearing was very thick (sadly very itchy too) and went down to my ankles, as it was not warm outside the bed. My feet were already freezing.

I put a hand on the wall for support, and made the mirror my goal. If I could walk up to the mirror, stand for a few seconds without support from the wall in front of it, and then walk back, I could go to sleep again. I nodded to myself in determination, and let go of the wall.

It was as if I was newborn child walking for the first time. My legs were not obeying my commands, my balance was horrible, and it felt like I would fall any second. But I didn't, amazingly enough.

I staggered forward, the mirror seemed to be further and further away, but after awhile it got better and I soon found myself in front of the mirror. What I saw made me frozen.

That face couldn't my face… could it?

I stared at my reflection in the mirror, not believing what I saw. I had changed.

Someone who didn't know me, or didn't look close enough wouldn't notice, but I did.

The changes were small, discrete, almost unnoticeable, but they were there.

When I had stepped in front of the mirror, I had expected to see a girl wearing a white nightdress, long black hair with two dark purple streaks, one on each side of my bangs framing my heart shaped pale face, and calm almond shaped eyes looking back at me.

What I found was a girl my age that I knew had to be me, but I just couldn't believe it.

The girl I saw in the mirror had the same clothes, the same skin colour, the face had the same shape, but what had changed were not my facial features. Well, my hair was more bluish-black now, but maybe I hadn't looked close enough earlier in my life. But the big change was my eyes.

On the first glance, my eyes would seem the same, but after looking closer I saw there was something cold in them that had never been there before. They were more narrowed, and my own ice cold gaze gave me chills down my spine. It wasn't me, _I_ wasn't me, it was a stranger staring beck at me… I lowered my gaze, I had to look away.

'_**Stop being such a sissy! Can't you even look at yourself in a mirror without getting scared?'**_Touki huffed. **'**_**Stop being such a whimp! You've been through worse, and you can't even look yourself in the mirror? How pathetic are you gonna get?'**_

'_But nii-chan, look at me… Why are my eyes like that?' _

He shrugged, well; at least I think he did, because I didn't get any answer from him. But I didn't get the chance to ponder on it too long, because the door was once again opened. This time it was an old lady who reminded me strongly of a bulldog who marched in. She was short, fat and had strong, muscular arms and neck. Her grey hair was tied back in a bun, and her brown and plain dress matched her strict appearance. Her face was far from radiating maternal softness, more like masculine aggressiveness.

It wasn't until I noticed the nurse from earlier, who I knew wouldn't come into my room willingly, that I began to wonder why they had come.

The nurse was the one who spoke first, well, more like clearing her throat first, but hey, a sound is a sound, right?

"Ahem, this is the child I talked to you about, Tsubaki-san" she reported tonelessly to the bulldog-woman. "I'll let you two talk alone for a bit, I have other patients to take care of. I'll be back soon."

"Hn." The bulldog-woman I assumed must be Tsubaki (What a strange name for someone as ungraceful as her!) grunted approvingly, and the nurse left.

I decided that since she had come to my room willingly, she must have something to say, so giving her a good first impression might be a good thing to do. But before I got the chance to open my mouth and introduce myself, Tsubaki spoke.

"I understand that you don't have any relatives, correct?" she barked. Her voice was rough and very unpleasant to listen to. I still found it hard that she was named after a really pretty flower; she really did remind me of an animal in every way she acted; talking, moving and appearance. But then I caught myself; I was judging her so harshly, even though I had merely been in the same room as her for a couple of minutes! I was no better than the nurse! Still, she wasn't exactly being considerate either…

"Are you listening!?" she barked again, a little louder this time. (If that is possible, that is.)

"Ah, gomen! Iie, I don't. As far as I know they're all…" I swallowed. "…gone."

"I see." She said curtly. "And there is no one who can take care of you?" it might have been my imagination, but her bark seemed kinder this time. I perked up a bit at this; so there were kind people in this place! Encouraged by this, I answered.

"No."

"Do you think someone might want to?"

I didn't even have to think before answering that question.

"No, I don't."

"Well, then it's settled. You're coming with me to the orphanage." She barked.

I stared at her dumbfounded. Well, that was certainly not a thorough investigation!

"What? You mean, now?"

"That depends. Can you walk?"

"Well… a little but…" I said hesitantly. I wasn't sure if giving her that information was good.

"Then you're coming!" she interrupted as she yanked me away from the wall that had been my temporary support. I almost fell on her as my close to nonexistent balance went out the window. The bulldog-woman, I mean Tsubaki, didn't seem to mind. Maybe she was used to dragging people around? I wonder…

We reached the bed and I sat down on it gratefully. The muscles in my legs felt really weird from not moving for three days. Tsubaki picked up my kimono. I felt my body tense up immediately. She seemed like a super strict and super tidy person. Would she throw it away? I wouldn't let her throw it away, she wouldn't dare…

But Tsubaki didn't throw it away. Instead, she unfolded it and told me get up from the bed. I obeyed, and to my slight surprise, she began to remove my nightdress. Blushing madly, I slapped her hands away.

"I can get dressed by myself, thank you very much." I said offended.

"Hm!" she grunted sourly.

She turned around so she wouldn't be able to see me change, and after a moment, I began to put on the inner white kimono, which I gladly noticed wasn't ripped that much. It would be able to fix. The outer kimono wasn't that torn either, it had just looked really bad when it was covered in blood. When I had tied the obi, I actually looked half-decent. The most damages had been on my obi, I just had to tie it a little differently and I'd be fine. I finished by pulling my fingers through my hair to make it look at least a little less entangled. It wasn't until then that I realised that there was a slight problem. I didn't have any shoes. My geta sandals had burned in the house.

I wasn't sure how to tackle this problem. I highly doubted that Tsubaki had any shoes in her pockets, and I was pretty sure the hospital didn't have shoes just lying about. On the other hand… I had fought in the snow without shoes. I might as well walk barefooted.

'I'm done. Let's go.'

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**A/N: **Hello all! Wow, chapter two is already done! Sorry that it wasn't that long, and that it didn't bring the story forward, and finally, I must apologise, but I don't think that any future chapters will be that long either.

Since English isn't my native language, it's kinda hard for me to write like I'd like to. But I don't think many of you guys understand Swedish, so sorry, but this'll have to do.

Hope you don't mind too much.

Oh well, if you did, I will ignore your flames anyway if they don't make any sense to me. Constructive criticism is more than welcome though. 

The story I recommend this time is called:

'Psychologically Imported' by the authoress 'Richochet'.

Five questions about the story will be answered as usual. And if you haven't got any questions, well, that makes me even happier, 'coz then I won't have to answer them. : )

Well then, see you next chapter! ^^

Izuru-sama


	3. A Strange Place

**Hello all! This is cute lil' me speaking!!! X3**

**Cherry Blossom Haiku, and NinjaVampirate, as you guys now, YOU ROCK, and so does all others who joined the reviewing-on–this-story club, which so far only these fella's have joined. (HINT, HINT!)**

**Also, Jasmine Hatake and NinjaVampirate who added my story to their favs, THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! x3**

**Sorry that this chapter is so short, but you see, I broke my right arm when I skiing in Idre, so I can' really type that well. (I'm typing this with my left hand. It's not going very fast.) anyway, I had written about half of this chapter, and then my arm went on strike, so this chapter is not that long. Sorry guys. **

**Well, that's about it I guess.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own, you don't sue. Deal?**

**________________________________________________________________________________________________________**

'**A strange place'**

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The hospital did have shoes. Well, actually spare slippers for the nurses, but beggars can't be pickers so what the hell. At least people didn't look at me weird when Tsubaki and I made our way through the village. They didn't even seem to think that it was weird that a small girl was carrying weapons. But like a said, no glares, so that's good right?

My new home, aka the orphanage, turned out to be a huge traditional Japanese wooden building not that far from the hospital. I wasn't really sure what I should say about it. I mean, I wanted to be polite and say something like 'Oh what a lovely house! I'm sure I'll **LOVE** it here!' But it just seemed kind of … I don't know. It was nice, pretty actually. But it didn't seem like a home.

But then again, I didn't want Tsubaki to think of me as a liar, which is what I would become if I said anything like that, and I'm pretty sure she'd notice.

I soon found myself in Tsubaki's office, with a wooden desk between us. This situation made me feel very, very small for some reason. The rest of the room was spartanly decorated. There were no pictures on the wall, only one lamp, Tsubaki's desk and chair, a bookcase and a chest of drawers.

"Welcome to the Camellia, Konoha's orphanage." She said. "We only accept girls in the Camellia; boys live in the other orphanage, called the Crane." She paused to clear her throat. "You will not only live here, you will be educated. You will be taught, along with the other girls, how to become a good woman, and a good wife." She informed me.

"Wife!? But I'm only six!" I exclaimed. No villagers had given me any bad looks on the way here, but after experiencing the nurse's and the man's reaction, I found myself highly doubting that someone would ever love me. I mean, who knows? Maybe they had told their friends, who told their friends, who told theirs... the thought made me shudder.

"Don't be silly, the training takes many years, when you're done you'll be an adult." She grunted. "And as you might have noticed, this is a prestigious school, we don't take in just anyone, so be sure not to let us down."

I found myself sceptical to that, since she had dragged me here from the hospital without even knowing who I was, plus the fact that this was an _orphanage_. I had to fight the urge to raise an eyebrow, a skill I was very proud of.

"Will I be educated in any different areas?" I asked instead. I had a feeling Tsubaki was in charge, and I didn't think people in charge liked being questioned.

"Your uniform and nightgown are in your room." She barked curtly, completely ignoring my question. "You'll meet the others at dinner, and make sure you look presentable."

'_I suppose that means no then…'_

"Ano, Tsubaki-san… I haven't got the chance to introduce myself properly. My name is Fuyuno Yuri." I said, still proud of the name Touki gave me.

"There's no need for that." she waved me off, like an annoying bug. "All girls get a number. Yours is number sixty-seven, since you're the sixty-seventh student here."

"I see..."I said softly. Her words hurt me. I didn't own much, but everyone deserved to keep their name. But I didn't even have my name now, I had a number.

_A number._

I had this feeling that she was trying to remove as much personality as she could from me and all the other girls; no names, same clothes, same home, same education.

Well, at least I had Miyako-nee-chan's locket.

'_**You forgot me again! You are sooomeeeaan!!!' **_Touki whined.

'_I'm sorry nii-chan, I'm just not that used to having a second person inside of me…'_

'_**Tch! Excuses, excuses… You know, one of these days, I'm gonna start singing REALLY annoying songs, the loudest I can, until your brain explodes.' **_he threatened.

I gulped.

'_Ano… what kinds of songs exactly?'_ I nervously asked.

'_**The most annoying that have ever existed… YODELLING!!!!' **_

'_Ne, nii-chan, what's yodelling…?'_

'_**Weeell…' **_he chuckled evilly._** 'Believe me; it isn't pretty, especially with my voice… The only thing that's worse is country music!'**_

I shuddered. I had no idea what that was, but I had a feeling that I should trust nii-chan on this one. Besides, I bet he could make _anything_ sound bad.

'_Ano… I don't know what those are, but please don't sing!'_

'_**Well say sorry then!' **_he huffed

'_Ano, I've already done tha..'_

'_**SAY IT, DAMMIT!!!' **_

'_Gomennasai, Touki-nii-chan. Please don't sing!!!' _I begged on my imaginary knees.

_**'Hmph! Well, I suppose you're forgiven, but if you ever forget me like that again, I'm gonna start singing! It hurts my feelings y'know!'**_

_'Hai, hai, nii-chan.'_

'_**HAH! GO ME!'**_

'…'

The conversation with Touki had prevented me from talking quite a while, and I suddenly realised that Tsubaki was looking at me weird. I didn't know how long I had spaced out, but from the look of Tsubaki's face, and the fact that my mouth was wide open, and there was drool on my chin, it seemed like a long time. I didn't want her to think of me as an idiot, so I had to come up with some good excuse…

"A-Ano…" I said with as much dignity I could muster with drool on my face.

"What?" she grunted in her bulldog-like way.

'_Think, Yuri!'_

"Well…" I said hesitantly, trying to buy more time while wiping off the drool as discretely as I could.

"Well what?" she said impatiently.

"Ah, I was just… well, I was just wondering…"

I could hear Touki snicker at me in my head. Tsubaki eyed me suspiciously, as if I was mentally retarded.

"I was just wondering in what areas I will be taught. What does a wife have to know?"

'_It sort of made sense! GO ME! In your face nii-chan!'_

'_**Where did that attitude come from? What did I do wrong?' **_he whined. (Yet again)

'_You snickered at me. Now shush! I don't want to look like a moron again because of you!'_

'_**Fine, fine… is it your period or something?'**_

'_What's that?'_

'_**Uh, never mind…'**_

'…_?'_

"Well," she began, "You will learn many things, but I can narrow it down to three steps. The first step is attracting a man. You will do this with music, dance, conversation, charm and elegance. The second step is marrying a man. To do that you will advance your skills in the areas I mentioned before. The third step is keeping your husband content, which is achieved by cooking good meals, keeping your home clean, giving birth to strong sons, sewing, etcetera." She finished. Apparently this speech was used often and well memorized, considering that she used an uncharacteristically monotone voice.

"Also, we have, naturally, certain rules here." She continued her monotone speech. "Each time you break a rule, you will be punished. You will find all the rules written down on a note in your room, which you will share with another girl your age. But I'll let you know the most important rule right away. You may, under no circumstances have any romantic relationship whatsoever with boys we haven't approved of, especially not the ones in 'The Crane'."

Now I really was confused. Wasn't I supposed to become a wife in the future? Then why couldn't I be with boys? What a strange person.

"Why?" I simply asked.

"Because you have to marry someone suitable, of course!" she said in her normal dog voice. Apparently no one had asked this question before, since the monotone voice was gone. Weird.

'_What does she mean, suitable? Isn't it alright if he's cute and kind?'_

'_**I think she means rich, imouto-chan…'**_ Touki said, sounding serious for once. I gulped. That _had_ to be a bad sign.

"Well, if that's all, I will show you to your room." She said.

I simply nodded and followed her out of the room.

~ OoOoO ~

Tsubaki had just left me in my new room. I didn't feel like reading the long list of rules, and besides, I was pretty sure I could behave properly. I was still tired from the walk here, and my injuries still ached a bit, even though they were healing, so I just couldn't concentrate on the small letters.

The fact that a girl was staring at me from across the room had absolutely nothing to do with it.

Nu-uh.

I couldn't bring myself to look away from her violet eyes, they so were hypnotic; my gaze was hopelessly locked with hers. She didn't look angry, she didn't glare, and she didn't seem scared she just… looked.

I had never had a friend my own age before, so I was determined to make her like me. But her intensive staring was slightly distracting, if you get my meaning.

"A-ano… who are you?" I finally managed to say.

The girl blinked and tilted her head to the side a bit, but she didn't say anything.

"What's your name?" I tried.

Still nothing. I decided to change strategy. My eyes caught sight of her deep red hair, which was almost as long as mine.

"I like your hair" I said. "It makes me think of cherries. Do you like cherries?"

She smiled a little and nodded. I mentally cheered. Progress at last!

"I'm Fuyuno Yuri, or number sixty-seven if you want to call me that. So what's your name?"

Her smile disappeared in an instant. She looked down and shook her head.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

She stopped shaking her head, and began to point at her throat, gesturing with her hands, and I finally understood what it was she tried to say.

"Oh…you can't speak, can you..?" I asked carefully.

She nodded sorrowfully, wrapping her arms around herself, as if she wanted to protect herself from my presence. Then she pointed at the tidily folded uniform at my bed.

"I should probably get dressed, shouldn't I? The bulldog-like woman, I mean Tsubaki, seems like a strict…"

Her silent giggles interrupted me. I stared at her, not understanding one bit of this. One second she was trying to shut me out, in the next she was giggling at me.

"Eh?" was my intelligent question.

She stopped giggling, but she still smiled like the sun. But then she pointed at the uniform again.

"I really should change, shouldn't I?" I said.

She nodded, still smiling.

~ OoOoO ~

Our geta sandals clattered against the wooden floor as we made our way through the corridors with all the other girls. We looked like a huge mass of clones running around. After all, we all wore identical clothes, a simple black yukata. Well, not really, the older students wore dark blue ones with white camellias. I wasn't sure what it was made of, but it was nice and warm without making me sweat.

We entered one of the many doors, and I was really glad that I had her with me, or else I wouldn't have found the way. There seemed to be people everywhere, all going in different directions. I had tried to follow my silent roommate the best I could, since I didn't want to get lost in this huge place.

The room we entered had tatami mats on the floor, and was big enough for about fifteen girls, which was about how many we were. Once everyone was seated, our attention was turned to a woman in a black kimono in front of us.

"Good afternoon, girls" she said. "Today, we'll be working on your charm. In other words, the way you smile, talk, laugh and act." She paused. "Allow me to show you. When you're together with someone you want to make fall in love with you, you must be smiling like this:"

She smiled sweetly and her eyes twinkled.

"Oh my, you're a ninja? You must be really strong!" she said to an imaginary man and cocked her head to the side, giggling cutely.

I felt slightly sick. And I didn't exactly feel better when she told us to try it ourselves. Soon there were girls giggling, tossing their hair and saying sugary words surrounding me. Memories of how oka-san had taunted me while killing Miyako came to my mind. She had been smiling just like that… and she had been giggling just like that…

I wasn't thinking anymore. I didn't see them as girls my age anymore. They had all turned into oka-san, scorning me again. I was vaguely aware of Touki telling me to stop. He sounded somewhat frightened for some reason. How strange. Oh well. I had more important things to do than listening to my eccentric brother. Like getting rid of all oka-san. I briefly wondered why there were so many of them, but then I brushed it off.

Before I knew it I was on my feet, walking towards one of them.i soon my hands around her neck and I began to choke her. I smiled as I felt her gasp for air and squirm helplessly, trying to break free. And for the first time that day, _I_ began to giggle.

Well, until I found out that it wasn't oka-san I was choking, but my silent roommate. Her terrified violet eyes stared at me frantically. Her hands were desperately trying to remove my hands from her neck.

I let go of her as if I had burned my hands. Then I felt someone grab me and drag me away from the room. The last thing I saw of the girls were their shocked and horrified faces staring at me in disbelief. Then the door was shut.

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**Hello all! please rewied if you liked it! The reason it's so short is that my right arm is broken. -.- I was skiing in Idre last week, and I had a bit too much fun, you see...**

**Anyhow, I can't really type that fast right now. :)**

**The story I'm going to recommend this time is:**

**'Narutotachi goes to hogwarts!'**

**Hugs and cookies to y'all! **


	4. Swinging

**Hello all! Right now I can only write with one hand, since my arm is broken, and it hurts like a bitch when I try to move my fingers. Anyhow, since you didn't review on the last chapter, I take it you didn't like it. So, I'll try to make this one longer.**

**Hope you like it this time!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

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'**Swinging'**

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The room they had taken her (well, us) to was dark, and the door was locked. It was in a small building a few meters away from the main house. There was only one room, which was completely empty. The walls were made of stone, as well as the floor. It was pitch black.

Actually, it kind of looked like a basement.

If only they knew.

I wasn't sure what exactly had happened in that room, except that she suddenly jumped up and began to strangle a girl. She hadn't even heard me when I tried to protest. Maybe she was insane, after all.

But then again, I had had my suspicions.

The question was; how could I use her insanity to my advantage? I had goals, goals I hadn't told her about. In fact, there were quite a few things I hadn't been completely honest about with her. Like my past for example, or my 'memory loss'. But she mustn't know about those things. If she did, she'd never trust me. And if she didn't trust me, she wouldn't do as I told her to.

Oh dear, she was already clawing at the door like some animal, screaming for someone to open. I guess I'd better calm her down.

'_**Ne, Yuri-chan, don't worry. Your mother isn't here, right? You killed her, remember?' **_I said.

'_Demo nii-chan, they locked the door! They locked it! And the walls just keep coming closer and closer…!'_

I didn't know how to response to that, so I changed the subject.

'_**You think Miyakos lullaby would calm you down?'**_

She began to cackle madly, a shrill laughter that didn't contain the slightest bit of joy.

'_A lullaby? A __lullaby__!? You really think a __lullaby__ can calm me down!?'_

She sank to the floor and curled herself into a ball, rocking back and forth. Her eyes were as wide as they could ever be, and her mad giggling was highly disturbing. More so that she was crying at the same time.

I really sucked at cheering people up, didn't I?

~ OoOoO ~

When I was about to lose it completely (or maybe I already had?) the door was opened. Then I was dragged to Tsubaki's office. She eyed me sternly. The look on her face resembled the one on the nurse at the hospital. And I thought I couldn't feel any lower.

"As you know I can't kick you out since this is an orphanage. But you are not allowed to strangle other girls." She said icily.

I shivered and looked at the floor with much more interest than I thought was normal.

"Why don't you take a walk around town?" It was not a question. It was an order.

"W-Well, I'd like to apologise to …" I began, but Tsubaki brushed me off.

"No. She has been through enough." she said sternly. "Take a walk."

I sighed. Apparently I didn't fit in here. I turned around and walked out the door. As I made my way through the corridors to the entrance I found that most girls were whispering about something, but as soon as I got close they became silent and looked away. Some looked frightened, others looked contemptuous. Touki didn't have to tell me to ignore them twice.

It felt wonderful to be outdoors. I guess I've never really liked being trapped inside. Nature never ceased to surprise me. There were so many different ways it could appear. One day the rain seemed to never stop falling, the next the sun shined like crazy. It was always changing.

I wondered aimlessly around the village that somehow had become my home. No one seemed to notice me. The black yukata made me blend in well in the crowd. Unfortunately, this made a lot of people run into me.

So, I walked away from the big roads to the smaller ones were not many people were walking around. I soon came to a place that was filled with children my age. They all did the same movements at the same time. An adult was standing in front of them, showing them the moves. It looked like they were kicking and punching thin air. At first, it looked like they all did it the same way, but after a while I noticed some differences in their movements. One boy, my eyes were drawn to him immediately; his clothes were so bright and orange. His movements were clumsy and unbalanced, not as smooth as the adult's were.

And one girl with deep purple hair (the same hue as my highlights!), her moves seemed to be restrained and unsecure.

But one boy actually moved as good and secure as the adult; but he didn't seem that proud of it, he was scowling with a look of hatred on his face. How strange, I thought.

'_**They are practising a kata.'**_ Touki explained.

'_I know.' _I answered before I could stop myself, and I realised that I actually _did_ know what it was. But how could I possibly know that?

'_**Hm.'**_ was all Touki said.

Apparently the training session was over, since the children scattered. I had nothing better to do, so I decided to follow the ones that were going to the playground (I heard them say that to each other). No one had had yet noticed me. But I didn't mind, not really. A part of me wanted to be a part of their group, laugh with them, go to the playground _with_ them and not just following.

But another part of me was scared, so very, very scared. I didn't know how to act. What was the right thing to say? What if I began to stutter again? Would they tease me for it? Not to mention, what would happen if I went out of control again, just because some of them might behave like oka-san? These children seemed to be taught how to fight.

Suddenly, going to the playground didn't seem that tempting anymore. But then I saw a weird kind of bench hanging in ropes from a tree, right across the yard where the children had been practising. I smiled a little at the strange item and went to sit on it. But then why was it so unsteady? I tried to shift to a little more comfortable position, but then I suddenly lost balance and fell on my butt with a surprised cry. I cursed under my breath about idiotic benches, using a vocabulary that made Touki cheer. I was glad that no one had seen me.

At least, that's what I thought at first. But then I heard a highly amused laughter right behind me. I turned beet red and turned around. It was the boy in bright orange clothes, but how could I not have noticed him?

"HAH! Sorry but you just looked ridiculous dattebayo!" He said in between choked laughter. "Here, let me help you up. I'm Uzumaki Naruto!" His smile was so big that it almost didn't fit in his face, and his voice was incredibly loud. It was the first smile that was directed at me I had ever seen since I came to this place. It gave me the courage to talk.

"A-arigato. I'm Fuyuno Yuri… That weird bench was so unsteady, I just fell and…"

His barking laughter interrupted me. The sound sent a wave of coldness through me. Miyako-nee-chan used to laugh like that… I quickly hid what I felt.

"Bench?! That's a swing dattebayo!" he grinned.

"A swing? What does it do?" I asked. He stared at me as if I had two noses.

"Well, uh, it's for playing, it's fun and… you swing on it, I guess." He said and shrugged.

"I don't think it's very fun…" I grumbled. "It threw me off."

"Well, that's because you didn't do it right 'ttebayo."

"Oh… well, how am I supposed to do it?" I asked uncertainly. "It's so wobbly…"

"Nah, don't worry! Just grab the ropes reeeaally tight and you'll be fine!"

I sat down on the swing again and grabbed the ropes, sitting perfectly still so tat I wouldn't fall off again.

"Ok! I'll just give you some speed then!" he said cheerfully.

And before I got the chance to protest, he had given me a hard push in the back and the swing was moving. The feeling was incredible, like flying. Each time I went back to Naruto, he gave me a hard push in the back that made me fly even higher. I felt this wonderful, bubbling feeling in my stomach, it was ticklish and big and needed to come out. Before I knew it, I was laughing. It felt wonderful. How long had it been? I had forgotten how good it felt.

"I told you it was fun!" Naruto said/yelled.

~ OoOoO ~

I was on my way back to the camellia now. Even though it wasn't exactly something I looked forward to, I walked with a skip in my steps. Playing with Naruto had been fun. After playing with the swing, Naruto taught me how to play 'ninja'. It seemed like mix between tag and hide and seek (which was my favourite game, by the way), but better. One was the hunter-nin and the other was the villain. I got to be the villain, and my role was to steal super-secret scroll and run away with it and the hunter-nin was supposed to capture the villain and retrieve the scroll (which was actually just a stick with a leaf around it). It really was fun. And Naruto asked me if we could play tomorrow!

'_Ne, nii-chan, it seems like I have a friend now.' _I thought happily.

'_**Yes, so it would seem.'**_ Touki said. The smile was evident in his voice. _**'Did you like the ninja game? I did.'**_

'_Yeah, but you shouldn't have taken over my legs and made me run that fast. Naruto almost couldn't catch up! It's really rude you know.'_

'_**Sorry, just couldn't stop myself, you know…' **_he said sheepishly.

'_It's alright, don't worry.' _I smiled.

I had friend.

I had a_ friend._

_I _had a friend.

Just tasting the words was wonderful. No matter how many glares the girls at the camellia threw at me, it didn't affect me. I had a friend now. And it felt great.

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**Hello all! yes, i know it's not that long, but my arm is still broken, so it's going reeeaaallly slow. Thanks to all who reads and reviews!!!!!!!! (HINT, HINT!!)**

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	5. Arrangements

**Hello all! Here's another chapter!**** Hope you like it. :3**

**And**** cookies, hugs and carnivals to the lovely cherry blossom haiku, she was the only one who reviewed.**

**It hurts my feelings, y'know? I mean, even if you think it sucks, at least say so, so I can change!**

**Anyhow, good news! The doctors say that my arm will be better by the end of this month! Yayness! X3**

_**HOWEVER!**_** If you guys don't review, I'll hunt you down and go on a killing spree with a POGO-STICK!!!!!**

**REVIEW DAMMIT!!!**

**Oh yeah, I don't own Naruto! :3**

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'**Arrangements'**

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I was currently in class. This one actually wasn't that bad, it wasn't like the other classes we had had today; like charm, how to talk cutely, and other ghastly subjects. Well, no, now I'm not completely honest. One subject wasn't as bad as those, but it wasn't exactly fun either. We had to clean for three hours. It's a part of our daily routine, so we would 'keep our homes neat and tidy in the future' as the teachers had told us.

Anyway, right now we were just dancing, and all my wounds had healed, so I felt fine. Well, truth to be told, I was more than fine. I felt magnificent. The movements were easy for me to follow, and every inch of me felt alive and pulsing with energy. I closed my eyes, having already memorised the choreography, and simply allowed myself to be engulfed by the gentle music from the koto. The fans in my hands were black, just like the yukatas we all were wearing. I really didn't see why I should hold them, but I supposed it looked prettier.

Touki had earlier pointed out that learning traditional Japanese dances was incredibly stupid, since most people would just think you're weird if you suddenly began to dance in front of them. I couldn't help but to agree. The purpose of us learning this was so that we could attract men in the future, wasn't it? How the hell was this supposed to help? Not that I minded. I liked to dance. It helped me to put my mind off other things.

As soon as the music stopped and Sone-sensei told us that classed was dismissed, I hurried out. I was going to see Naruto today!

'_Ne, nii-chan? What do think we'll play today?'_

'_**Well, I wouldn't know, I'm not inside **_**his**_** head, now am I?'**_

I didn't mind his grumpiness; he usually was like that after all. But he could be _really_ annoying during cleaning, because he was constantly saying things like 'HAH! You missed a spot!' and 'Come on! Only two hours and 59 minutes left now!'

See what I'm talking about?

By the time I reached the Academy (Naruto told me) they were still practising that kata, so I sat down and watched. But after a while, it got boring. And found myself being annoyed at some of the students. The movements were so simple! It wasn't more complicated than the dance lessons! So how the hell were they able to mess it up so many times?!

'_**Ne, Yuri-chan. If you think it's so easy, why don't you do it?'**_ Touki huffed.

'_Maybe I will!'_

'_**Fine! Do it!'**_

'_Fine! I'll do it!'_

'_**Fine!'**_

'_Fine!'_

I got up on my feet and settled in the same stance as the others. And then I simply mimicked the adult's movements. Two steps forward, high kick, sink to the ground and make a sweeping kick, get up and punch three times, elbow jabs.....

Soon I was trapped in the movements; they were fluid yet full of energy, full of life. I was enjoying it just as much as enjoyed dancing, if not more. My mind went bank and misty, and I was only movement. Just a dancer.

A thought appeared in my cloudy mind. Why not do it faster? Why not do it faster than fast? Yes why indeed? No one was going to get upset or anything, right?

And soon I moved as fast as I could, my arms and legs went in a flurry of movements, adrenalin pumping through my veins. The feeling was addictive, like a drug. I was in my personal bubble now, my eyes closed, enjoying every drop of sweat, every rush of adrenalin, every tiny little bit of energy. How I wished this feeling would last forever, to always feel like this....

"YURI-CHAN 'TTEBAYO!!!!!" Naruto yelled in my ear. I hadn't even noticed him standing there.

I groaned. So much for forever...

"Yuuuuri!!! No faaaair, dattebayo!!!!! Why didn't you tell me you could do that!?' Naruto whined.

His expression made me laugh.

"Ano, never mind that. What do you want to play today, Naruto?" I tried to change the subject, but Naruto was stubborn.

"Oi! I wanna know dattebayo! Where'd you learn how to do that?"

"Well, I came here to see you, got bored waiting and imitated your class's moves." I simply said.

"Hmmmm..?" Naruto had gone into thinking mode, which basically meant he scrounged up his face into a grimace that made him look like a fox. His scars on his cheeks looked like whiskers. I would have asked about how he got them, and about his extremely blue eyes, but I figured shouldn't be the one to ask such questions. After all, I didn't like it when people in nee-chan's village looked strange at me because of my eyes. So I kept quiet and waited for him to be done thinking.

After a while his expression lit up like light bulb.

"I've got it dattebayo!" he exclaimed happily. Then he began to fire questions at me.

"Yuri-chan, do you like to do katas? He asked eagerly.

"Well, yes I do, it's ..."

"Great!" he interrupted me to fire the next question. "Do you like to play ninja with me?"

"Hai, it's fun..."

"Great!" he interrupted me yet again. "Do you like the Hokage?"

"Ano, who's that?"

His jaw dropped to the ground, and his eyes looked like they would jump out of their sockets.

"NANI!?!?!?! You mean you don't know who that _IS_!?!?!?"

"Err, no...?"There it was again! Mentioning that strange hokage person, whoever that was. I hoped Naruto would tell me more about him. But before I could ask, Naruto began to rant.

"He's the most skilled ninja in the village! Well, Sandaime is more like an old geezer who always smokes, but Yondaime was amazing! He even defeated Kyuubi!! And he's a freaking demon! And since I'm so great I'm gonna be the next Hokage and make everyone acknowledge me dattebayo!!!" he said all this in one breath. I was astonished at the fact that he didn't suffocate.

"So, basically he's a strong person that people respect...?" I tried to summarize.

"Yeah, but when I, Uzumaki Naruto, become Hokage I'll be a billion times better 'ttebayo!!" he announced proudly and puffed out his chest.

"Woow." I stared at him in awe. He was going to be the next Hokage? "You must be so skilled! You must be a genius!"

He blushed and looked at with me disbelief. "You mean… you believe I can do it? You're not going to … make fun of me?"

"Why shouldn't I believe you? You're not a liar. But what do you mean, making fun of you? Does that mean that people make fun of you?" I could feel that I began to become angry. People in this village actually made fun of their future Hokage! They actually dared to make fun of her best and only friend!

I think Naruto saw my growing anger, because he quickly changed the subject.

"Anyway, I think you should go to the Academy with me!" he said cheerfully.

"But aren't we at the Academy right now...?"

"That's not what I meant! As a student!"

I stared at him. Me? Become a ninja? I wasn't sure that was such a good idea. What if my sadistic traits awakened? Maybe I'd hurt a student without meaning to? But then again, they must be able to defend themselves. But what would Naruto think of me if he saw me like that? Would he be afraid of me? Would he hate me? Would he stop being my friend? I couldn't lose him. He was the only friend I had. He was the only one who didn't know what I had done. How ironic, oka-san managed to trouble me even though she was dead...

But when I thought about oka-san, I remembered the way she had been; just like the girls at the Camellia, just like I was trained to become. The thought made me shudder. I wanted to be like nee-chan, not like _her._ Nee-chan... she was always so strong. I smiled a little as I remembered her whack-people-in-the-head frying pan. I wanted to be like that. Whack people in the head to protect someone I cared for.

"Y-you don't have to if you don't want to..." Naruto said nervously. His sad and uncertain face stomped down my inner objections. Naruto couldn't be sad! He was always bright, happy and orange! I'd do anything to keep him bright, happy and orange!

"Ano, I'd like to become a ninja with you, Naruto."

And just like that, he was all bright, happy and orange again. I smiled. Go me!

"Yatta dattebayo!! Let's go to the old geezer and make him put you in the academy!"

-0-0-0-0-0-

I'm not a person to judge from peoples appearances. If I had done that, I would have thought aka-san was lovely. But the minute I saw Hokage-sama, I knew immediately why he was so respected by so many people. It took one look for me to determine that I could trust him. If I had ever had a grandfather, I would have wanted him to be like Hokage-sama.

I didn't talk much, because once Naruto begins to rant, there's no stopping him. He began to tell Hokage-sama in a much exaggerated manner how skilled I was, adding details to the story that I was quite sure didn't happen. This puzzled me at first. But then I thought that maybe he really wanted me to become a student at the academy. The thought made me smile. He really was a good friend.

"Naruto, it's good that you have strong faith in your friend," Hokage-sama, or Sandaime, as he wanted us to call him, (though Naruto kept calling him 'old geezer') interrupted Naruto's seemingly endless rant. "But how about letting _her_ speak, hm?"

"Oh. Sorry 'ttebayo." He smiled sheepishly. Then he turned to me, looking at me expectantly. To my utter horror, so did Sandaime. What was I supposed to say?! According to Naruto's story, I was some super-talented genius! What if Sandaime didn't think I was good enough? Would Naruto be disappointed in me? Would I be forced to go back to the camellia? I began to feel nervous. _Really_ nervous. If Touki hadn't kicked in, I don't know what would have happened. He simply took over my body.

"Sandaime." He said with my mouth. "I'd love to become a student at the academy. I want to become a good kunoichi and protect this village. That's the least I can do in return."

Sandaime looked surprised but pleased. Of course, Naruto didn't know what "I" was referring to, he didn't know that I had been saved and taken care of because of Sandaime. But to my surprise, he didn't ask.

"Well, I'm glad that you're so motivated, uh... what's your name?"

"Oh!" I never got the chance to introduce myself earlier, Naruto began to rant. "Yuri. Fuyuno Yuri."

"Yuri. It's good that you're motivated, but I need to see if you really are as talented as Naruto here says you are."

"NANI!? Jiji, are you calling me a liar, dattebayo!?" Naruto sulked.

"I'm not calling you a liar Naruto." Sandaime calmed him. "I just want to see her do a kata, try to mould chakra and that's all."

'_Touki, let go of my body.'_ I thought firmly. _'I want to prove that I'm good on my own.'_

'_**Meh, suit yourself. But you do owe me a 'thank you'!'**_

'_Hai, hai. Thank you, onii-chan.'_

'_**Aw, it's nothing, you don't have to thank me!' **_

'_But you told me to...?'_

But Touki had disappeared by then, so I got no response from him. Well, I don't think he actually disappeared, he was inside me after all. But he acted as if he really had disappeared.

"Sandaime, what kata should I do?" I asked. I didn't want him to know that I only knew one, the one that Naruto's class had been practising earlier. Which I had basically forgotten by now.

"Well, what katas do you know?"

'_So much for that plan...'_ I thought. I could hear Touki giggle at me.

"Well, I only done one, but I don't remember it..." I said sheepishly.

Sandaime chuckled. "In that case I have a better idea. Why don't you spar with Naruto?"

"But he's my friend!" I wanted to say. But something told me that it wasn't a question. So I simply turned to Naruto and asked him if he was alright with it. He wasn't. And his protests were far from quiet. They didn't stop until I kicked in.

"Naruto. Don't you want me to get in to the academy?" I asked.

"Of course I do!" he exclaimed. "But I don't want to hurt you!"

"But Naruto, if get in to the academy, I'll practice fighting right? And I'll spar with other students, and then I might get hurt, won't I?"

"..hai..." he admitted.

"Then let's spar, ne?" I smiled.

"Yosha dattebayo!" he yelled happily and charged at me. But before he could get two metres forward, Sandaime had stopped him.

"Mou, what now 'ttebayo?!" he said irritably.

"Naruto, I don't want my office ruined. We're going to one of the training areas." Sandaime smiled.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

The training area we were at was really nice. Since it wasn't as cold in Konoha as it was wherever I was from, the snow had already melted, even though it was only January. Here and there some flowers had popped out of the ground. But even though spring was in the air, the yukata I had gotten at the camellia wasn't too warm at all.

"Now, can we spar?" Naruto asked grumpily.

"Whenever Yuri says she's ready." Sandaime replied. Naruto turned to me expectantly.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. Okay. Here goes. I cleared my mind and let my body be in charge. I immediately slipped into a defensive stance. Deep breath in. Focus. Deep breath out. I opened my eyes.

"I'm ready, Naruto."

"Okay! Here I come, dattebayo!" he shouted as he charged at me.

I sidestepped his punch and dropped in to a low kick which he jumped over. I jumped up and aimed a high kick to his shoulder. He blocked it with his forearm and threw a punch at my chin. I avoided it by doing a backflip, to Naruto's and my own utter surprise. How did I know how to do that?! Touki hadn't taken over my body again, had he...? No, I would have noticed. But how..?

Naruto's kick to my ribs brought my head out of the blue. Focus. Concentrate or get hurt. I grit my teeth not to gasp as I lost my breath. I glanced at Sandaime. He didn't look too impressed. I had to be better than this! I had to! I was _not _going back to the camellia were no one even spoke to me! So I had to be good! I had to be better than good! I had to!

I backflipped a few times to distance myself from Naruto. Then I let my body slip into an offensive stance. Then I searched within myself. Searched for the wonderful feeling of power. Searched for the black fire, my chakra.

When I found it, Naruto was already in front of me throwing a punch at my solar plexus. I smirked. Too late. My left hand caught his fist. Lightning fast I sent chakra into my right hand, turned it into a fist and punched him the hardest I could in the solar plexus. He went flying into a tree with a sickening sound.

"NARUTO!!" I frantically ran over to him. "Naruto, I'm so sorry, are you alright?!" I was close to tears. I had hurt him! This proved my fears to be correct; I had no control whatsoever over myself!

"POOF!" 'Naruto' disappeared and turned into a log. I watched with mixed feelings as the smoke settled. I was glad that Naruto was alright, but I had seen this before. Oka-san ad used it. Come to think of it, hadn't she mentioned an academy when I fought her? I smiled at the irony of it all. I was trying so hard not to become like her, when I actually was following her footsteps…

I sensed Naruto behind me and spun around to block his kick with my own. I caught his foot and twisted it sharply, making him lose his balance and fall flat on his butt. Before he could get up, I promptly sat down on his chest, holding his arms above his head with one hand, the other turned into a fist two centimetres from his face.

At first Naruto looked dumbfounded, but then he grinned broadly.

"I told you you should go to the academy with me dattebayo!"

I stared at him. " …aren't you angry?" I asked.

"Nah, not really. I mean, you said it yourself; it's natural to get hurt when you spar."

"Thank you. For not being angry."

I looked up as I heard someone clapping. It was Sandaime! I blushed. I had completely forgotten that he was there!

"Well done, Yuri, well done. You even know how to mould chakra at such a level! Very impressive. Who taught you?"

He was impressed! Could that mean that I actually had a chance?

"Ano, no one has taught me this. It just… I don't know… comes. It feels good." I tried to explain.

"Hmm." Sandaime looked thoughtful. "Well, could you try to mould as much chakra as you can?"

I nodded and closed my eyes. This time I felt the intense black fire immediately. I didn't just pull it out to my hands this time; I spread it all over my body. I kept drawing out more and more and more, the black fire swirling around me was like a drug. I opened my eyes and gasped at the sight.

I was surrounded by the fire, I was in the centre of a huge sphere of it and unable to see clearly outside of it, as if I was under water. It made a crackling noise, not quite like fire, not quite like a storm, but something in between…

The more I drew out, the faster it swirled around me. Soon my hair and yukata whipped around me, as if I was in the middle of a storm. But it was a pleasant feeling. I felt powerful.

I felt something moving around my neck. It was the pendant! It began to play on its own! As I listened to the melody, it began to float up in the air. When it was in front of my face, it opened, but it was completely empty! But were did the music come from? But these thoughts soon left my head as I for the first time could hear the words of the lullaby. It was in a foreign language, but for some reason I understood perfectly.

_Search within, search within._

_Your true strength lies within._

_Trust the fox_

_O__thers might fear him_

_But y__ou mustn't leave him_

_Fear not the cherry blossoms_

_Lilies are stronger_

_Lilies live longer_

_Save the lonely one_

_For you are like him_

_Embrace the darkness within _

Well, I understood the words perfectly, but not the meaning. Trust the fox? Fear not the cherry blossoms? I was beyond confused.

A sharp pain in my chest brought me out of the blue. I doubled over and gasped for air. Apparently it was taking a toll on me to draw out so much chakra at once. I just released my concentration and the sphere was gone in a heartbeat. I panted hard. Sweat was running down my body and I was shaking like a leaf. But it was all worth it when I saw Sandaime's expression.

"Yuri. You are more than welcome to the Academy."

"Arigatou, Sandaime." I grinned.

My new life starts now.

__________________________________________________________________

**A/N: helllooooooouu!! Phew! That was a long one! Eight pages!!!!!! :3**

**And guess what…?**

**MY ARM IS HEALED!!!!!!!!!! YAYNESS!!!**

**So, if you would please review?**

**Oh, btw, for the next chapter, I'm open for requests! Like for example, if you want something adorably cute to happen between yuri and naruto, or you want Touki to be centric and find out more about his secret plan or whatever! It's up to you, I'm all ears. :3**

**Hugs and cookies to cherry blossom haiku again, cuz she's really worth it! She has reviewed to EVERY SINGLE CHAPTER!! You guys should learn from her! Hmpf!**

**the story i'm going to recommend this time is called 'The Obsession' by **

**Bye!**

**/Izuru-sama**


	6. Porn And A Rude Mouse

**Weeee!!! I got another reviewer and a future beta!!! ****So, everyone please welcome…**

**Jasmine Hatake!!!!!!!**

**This lovely person requested that in this chapter, Naruto and Yuri would end up in a situation were they both blush.**

**I shall do my best, for it's the springtime of youth!!**

**Love ya'll!!!**

'**Porn and a rude mouse'**

"Absolutely not! I will not allow it!" the bulky woman boomed.

"Why not!? Sandaime said I was talented!" I yelled back.

She looked shocked that I didn't just submit to her will. But then she pushed it aside and began to talk again.

"Doesn't matter. As long as you live under this roof and wear the clothes that have been given to you, you're staying! That goes for everyone here!"

'_**Basically, that means they're all trapped. They can't leave. They're orphans. Where could they go?'**_

'_So that's why they tolerate being here…' _I looked at Tsubaki as if I've seen her for the first time. What I saw made me feel angry and sick at the same time.

"But I want to become a kunoichi!"

"Unless you become adopted, there is no way that can happen. And there is _no way_ you'll be adopted." She smirked.

"Why's that?" I said angrily. Was she implying that no one wanted me?

"Well, you're a girl. No one wants a girl in the first place. So why _adopt_ one?" Tsubaki laughed. "Like it or not, gaki, you're staying."

I glared at her, too angry to say anything. Then I got an idea. I began to untie the obi on the yukata, dropped it to the floor, stepped out of my geta sandals and then I began to work on the yukata.

"Oi, what are you doing?"

"You said it yourself. As long as I wear these clothes…" I yanked off the yukata and stood there in only my underwear, not bothering to be shy of showing my body or the many scars on it. "…and stay under this roof, I can't be a kunoichi."

I gave her my most murderous glare, and then I pivoted around and left Tsubaki's office, walking with my head held high to my room.

"Number sixty-seven. Number sixty-seven!" I kept walking, ignoring her completely.

"OI! Number sixty-seven!! Answer me!" she growled.

"Hmm? I'm sorry, were you calling for me? But I'm Yuri… no, you must have called for someone else…" I smiled prettily (as they had taught me against my will) and kept walking.

"You won't be the first one leaving the Camellia, you know." Said a voice behind me. It was my redheaded roommate!

"I thought you were mute?" I said with a raised eyebrow.

"What? No, I had a cold." I sweatdropped. Oh.

"So ka. Well, what do you mean with me not being the first leaving?"

"Many have run away before. But they all die on the streets."

"I won't die on the streets. I have a friend."

"That's what they said too."

I stared at her. Those girls' friends let them die?

"I don't know why." She said, as if reading my mind. "Maybe they weren't as good friends as they let on."

"Why are you telling me this? I thought you hated me after…" I didn't finish the sentence.

"Don't misunderstand me. I do." Her eyes darkened. "But everyone who tries to escape deserves to know."

I frowned. She really did think I was going to die. "What's your name?"

"I'm number…"

"I don't want to hear your number." I interrupted. "What's your name?"

"… I'm not sure." Her eyes were downcast." It's been so long since anyone said it. I think... it's Akie."

I bowed to her. "Thank you for your warning, Akie-san. But I'm not going to die. Sayonara."

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

I was now dressed in the kimono Miyako gave me half an eternity ago. I had fixed it in sewing class. It was surprisingly easy. On my feet were the spare slippers I had gotten at the hospital. They looked a bit like zori sandals, so I didn't look too weird. What might have looked were the elegant black katanas at my hip. They were shorter than I remembered them, perfect for my height and strength. Had they shrunken? Nah. That couldn't happen, right?

However. I had absolutely _no_ idea were to go. At first I had considered going to Sandaime's-san, but I didn't remember the way to his office. Sure, I could see it from here, after all, it was hard to miss the huge red building, but when I tried to get closer I just got lost in the alleys and ended up somewhere further away from it. So I went to the Academy instead.

I became calmer the second I saw Naruto. His class practising throwing kunai and shuriken. Everyone was doing quite well, some better than the others. Except Naruto. He kept missing the target, over and over again. But he said he was great? Didn't he say he was going to be the next Hokage?

Had he lied to me?

But then I saw his expression. Raw determination. No matter how many times he missed the target, he kept picking up his weapons and tried again and again and again. Maybe he wasn't great at the moment but… he would be. One day.

I was sure of it.

I looked up at the sky. The sun was about to set. I sighed heavily. It really had been a long day, a lot of things had happened since this morning. I was pretty sure Naruto's class would be dismissed pretty soon, then I could ask him to show me the way to Sandaime's office.

I walked over to the tree with the swing that Naruto seemed to like so much. It was kind of 'his spot' in a way. I sat on the swing, closing my eyes enjoying the spring breeze. I removed my swords, (I couldn't sit comfortably with them on) and put them beside me in the grass.

I looked down at the swords and frowned. I really did need to become better at using them. I couldn't just hope that Touki-nii-chan would jump in to save me… I glared at the swords, as if it was their fault. I didn't know why, but the thought of being helpless and needed to be saved disgusted me.

Speaking of Touki… why hadn't he spoken with me? I felt a stab of guilty conscience. I had been so busy with playing and having fun with Naruto, I had forgotten him completely. I should talk to him. Besides, he might know something about the strange lyrics from the lullaby. And why the locket had opened. After all, I had tried to open it before, and then it wouldn't budge. I sighed. It was all so confusing.

'_Onii-chan?'_

'_**Hmm?'**_

I raised my eyebrows at this. He was never this laid back! No whining? No demands for apologies? Who was this?!

'_Ano… are you feeling alright?'_

'_**Yeah. Why?'**_

'_Maa… you're not whining and nagging…?'_

'_**I can be nice too, ya know!'**_he sounded miffed.

'_Hai, hai… gomen! Anyways, you know, earlier today, when__ my locket opened? And and I … we could hear the words? What do you think it means?'_

'_**Well…'**_ I held my breath. He actually did know something! _**'Not a clue.'**_

I anime fell from the swing, attracting some strange looks from some of the students. Laughing nervously, I got up on the swing again. _'Stupid brother! If you don't know anything, then don't act like you do!' _I growled in frustration. _'Look what you made me do!'_

'_**Aww, don't you know? I'd do anything to embarrass you.' **_He snickered.

'_Hmpf! Fine, be that way!' _I couldn't believe I actually felt guilty because of my idiot brother.

"You really do fall off swings a lot, don't you, Yuri-chan?" said a cheery voice I'd recognise anywhere.

"I guess my balance sucks, ne?" I laughed nervously.

"Only when you're on a swing. When you fight you're awesome dattebayo!" I blushed.

"A-Arigatou. Ne, could you help me with something?"

"Sure dattebayo! What is it?"

"Ano… I would like to see Sandaime-san. I need his help, but I don't know the way to his office…"

"But Yuri-chan, you can see his office from here 'ttebayo." Naruto said confusedly.

"Maa…" I drew little circles in the ground with my foot, too embarrassed to look at him. "I … kinda keep getting lost on the way there…"

Naruto sweatdropped. "Ano, Yuri-chan, all you have to do is walk straight to the tower dattebayo."

"Well, I've tried all afternoon, but I just get lost along the way…"

"AH! Now I get it! You use the streets, right? They are made so that strangers will have a hard time coming to the Hokage, for security reasons I think. Why don't you jump from roof to roof? It's waaay easier dattebayo!" he said happily.

"Jump the roofs?!" I stared at him. Was that even possible? "But how am I supposed to get up?

"Like this dattebayo!!" he shouted cheerfully and jumped up in the top of the tree. "Cool, huh?" he shouted down at me proudly. "Now you try it!"

"How?" I yelled back.

It grew quiet. Naruto had his thinking expression on and was scratching the back of his head.

"I dunno 'ttebayo!" he then yelled back. "Try it anyways!"

I sweatdropped. Brilliant.

I couldn't help but to feel a tad bit silly as I crouched down and tried to jump as high as I could. When I didn't even reach the lowest branch, I felt more than just a tad bit silly.

I felt plain stupid.

"Naruto-kun! It doesn't work!"

"Try again dattebayo!"

I sighed. I wanted to be able to jump like that, it seemed like fun, but …

"Come on Yuri-chan! Don't give up dattebayo!" Naruto yelled as if he had read my thoughts.

I nodded, then realised he couldn't see it and yelled an 'ok!' back. But I couldn't help but to think it was impossible for me to do it. To jump that high, you had to be really strong…

I almost slapped myself in the face when I realised how easy the solution was. I really didn't have to be that strong at all, just like I didn't have to be insanely strong to send Naruto flying when we sparred earlier today. The answer really was simple: chakra!

I didn't even have to search this time, it came out at once. It must be because I had used it so much recently. I pumped it into my legs and jumped.

….And flew higher than I meant to. I had jumped _over_ the tree. And then there was the tiny little issue about landing…

I landed in a very (coughnotcough) elegant spread eagle on the grass. Well at least it wasn't rocks.

"Yuri-chan!! Are you okay dattebayo?!" Naruto came running at me. Oh. So he came down from the tree, huh…

"I wanna try again. Can you be up there if something goes wrong, Naruto-kun?"

"Oi, you sure?" he said as he helped me up.

"Hai."

"Yosh! See you at the top dattebayo!"

I dusted off my kimono and began to concentrate chakra in my legs. Only this time, not _quite_ as much as the last time. I had no intention of going _**splat**_ on the ground again, thank you very much.

This time, before I jumped, I did what I did when I sparred with Naruto; I let my body be in charge. This time when I jumped, it all felt right.

No.

It felt absolutely _awesome_.

I laughed out loud. To think that something could feel this good! A thought hit me mid-air. Why not play a little…? I twisted and spun my body and vaulted backwards, laughing with joy as I went flying trough the air. This was _great_!

"Yuri-chan that's amazing dattebayo!! Now you only have to land!!" Naruto cheered me on.

Wait. I had to land too?

Oh. Didn't really think of that.

Whoops.

I didn't see Naruto's expression, but I heard him.

"Eh? Yuri-chan? Aaahh!! Feet first, FEET FIRST!!! AAAH!!!"

I slammed in to him, almost knocking us both off the tree. But luckily, Naruto caught me. I sighed in relief. We swayed unsteadily on the treetop, laughing like idiots.

"Arigato Naruto-kun." I smiled at him, and he blushed for some reason. "Ano…You can put me down now..."

"Ah! Hai, hai..." He put me down, but he didn't let go of my hand.

"I guess I have to practice some more..."

A sudden gush of wind made the treetop shake violently. We both cried out and hugged each other around the waist for support. I blushed. It felt kinda nice. Almost like the feeling I got when I flew through the air… only this time, there was this warm and fuzzy feeling too. I snuggled a bit closer. Mmm. He was so warm and huggable...

"Ano, Yuri-chan, the wind has stopped blowing..." came Naruto's voice.

"Mm." I mumbled back in to his t-shirt, which smelt sooo nice by the way. It smelt like sunshine and summer...

"Um, you can let go now..." came the uncertain reply.

"Ah! Gomennasai! " I blushed furiously and let go, not knowing where to look. I settled for my hands. My bangs shaded my eyes, and I sneaked a peak at Naruto. He was also blushing madly, and he looked at his sandals as if they were the most intriguing things he had ever seen.

...

Had he liked the hug too?

Before I knew what I was doing, I lay my arms around him again. I was going redder and redder every second.

'_Come on! It's too late to back down now anyways.' _I tried to encourage myself.

"Thank you for helping me so much." I said softly. I didn't dare to look at him, but from the heat radiating off of his cheeks, I could tell he was as embarrassed as I was.

"Never mind 'ttebayo." Came the reply as he hugged me back.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Here we go again. Sitting in front of Sandaime-san, Naruto next to me chatting at a hundred miles per hour speed and I myself can't manage to get out a single word. I just didn't liked to ask for help, I didn't want to be a burden to anyone.

I sighed. As soon as Naruto had found out that I had lived in the orphanage and wasn't welcome there anymore and had nowhere to go, he had grabbed my hand, and before I knew it we were jumping the roofs on our way to Sandaime-san. I had been too surprised to be nervous about landing, so we had crashed quite a few times.

And now that we were here, Naruto kept telling Sandaime-san that I should get my own apartment (what?!) and that Sandaime-san should do a lot of nasty things to Tsubaki, were in a some of them the hokage monument, a pogo-stick, a goat and a chimney were involved. A part of me wanted to cheer him on and the other part... well.... the other part wanted to suggest he used an anvil too. (Nani? Like I'd stop him.)

Sandaime-san... well, he looked like he didn't know what to think. Poor guy. A furious hyperactive kid scolding him, and another creepy kid sulking in the corner. And he was just about to go out for a drink too...

But wait a minute...

"Naruto." Sandaime held up a hand to silence him. "I understand. It will be arranged as soon as possible. But what is this 'camellia' you're speaking of?"

"Nani? It's the orphanage Yuri-chan had to live in 'ttebayo! Don't you know anything+ you're supposed to run this village dattebayo!" Naruto grumbled.

"Hm." Sandaime frowned. "I've never heard of it. And I certainly don't like the idea of treating children like that. I shall look into this." He said thoughtfully.

"Ano, Sandaime-san...?" I began uncertainly. "I don't mean to be rude or anything, but... where am I supposed to live? Surely you can't fix a place for me in five minutes? And how am I supposed to pay for it?"

"Ah, well as for paying, you're going to be a kunoichi in the future right?" I nodded. "Well, then you're going to protect this village, and that's all the payment I need." I smiled gratefully.

"Arigato, Sandaime-san."

"And when it comes to where you should live... well, I suppose you could stay with me for a while, until you have a place for yourself..."

"ABSOLUTELY NOT DATTEBAYO!!!!!" shouted Naruto as he stood up, waving his arms in protest. "I've seen what you during the lunchbreaks! You're a dirty old man who reads porn dattebayo!"

Sandaime turned beet-red and began to protest, while Naruto kept insisting that I absolutely under no condition whatsoever were to stay with him, since he was inappropriate and vulgar. Well, Naruto didn't exactly use those words, more like 'he's a perv dattebayo!' and 'he's got a porn collection in his desk! He reads it while pretending to work dattebayo!'

I looked at the scene, confused as ever. How come I was always confused in this room?

"Ano...?"

No reaction.

"Erm, excuse me..?"

Same.

"Excuse me?" I said a bit louder.

They were still going at it, aka bickering about whether that hokage had porn in his desk or not.

"It's in the left drawer dattebayo! I've seen it!"

"No it isn't! Look! It's only boring old papers here!"

"Liar! You probably hid it at the bottom!" and before anyone got the chance to stop him, Naruto began to toss out the papers, which singled down to the floor, one by one, like confetti.

"NARUTO!! I had just sorted those papers!! Have you got any idea how many hours that took!?" Sandaime-san yelled frustrated. Naruto ignored him completely.

"Hm! Empty? How strange... I was so sure... AH! It's probably in the other drawer!! And before I could blink he had emptied another drawer on the floor.

"NARUTOOO!!!" bellowed Sandaime, looking surprisingly murderous for an old man.

"AAH!!! YURI-CHAN, WE GOTTA GO!!!" he grabbed my hand and off we jumped out the window to the nearest roof, were we jumped to the next, escaping the same way we came.

(Little did we know that Sandaime-san drew a sigh of relief and muttered to himself after we had gone.

"I knew it was a good idea to change the hiding place...")

"Where are we going, Naruto-kun?" I asked.

"Maa, you need a place to stay, ne? I thought... if you want to, you can stay at my place..." Naruto looked like a tomato with horrible sunburn. "It's not that great, but if you want to...?" he looked up from under his bangs uncertainly.

I beamed at him. He really was a true friend! I was so lucky to have met him. The warm fuzzy feeling blossomed inside of me and filled me from head to toe. I didn't know what to say.

"Arigatou..." was all I managed, but Naruto understood. He grinned his in his fox-like way that was so typically him and scratched the back of his head embarrassedly. Then we began to leap across the roofs again, since we were both too embarrassed to say anything sensible.

I suddenly remembered the song from the locket.

'…_Trust the fox…_

…_Others might fear him…_

…_But you mustn't leave him …'_

'_Could it be... that Naruto was the fox? But why would people fear him?'_ I furrowed my brows, trying to sort it out in my head. He was so cheerful, bright and sunny, a really, really good friend and on good terms with the Hokage (well, sort of)... but he had a smile for everyone, so... why the fear?

Did that mean that the other things in the song represented other people too? The cherry blossoms, the lonely one, the lilies and the darkness within?

_Well, the lilies__ probably represents me, compared with the cherry blossoms.' _I thought. '_And since Naruto were the fox because of his appearance and behaviour, the others probably are too.'_ I concluded. _'But if that's the case... how does a cherry blossom behave? And what does a cherry blossom person look like? And there were probably plenty of lonely people. How could I possibly help all of them or find a specific person? Konoha was so big... and the darkness within.... could that be same thing as the true strength within? Then maybe that was Touki-nii-chan! But he wasn't my own strength, so maybe he was the darkness...?'_

I shook my head. This was all so confusing! I sighed and decided that talking to Naruto would be more fun.

"Ne, Naruto-kun? What are your parents like? Are they nice?" I asked.

Big. Mistake.

His cheerful expression changed into the saddest one I had ever seen on him in a heartbeat.

"I don't have any, like you." He said shortly. He didn't sound angry or upset, but something about his tone said that he didn't want to discuss it.

His smile was soon back in place, but it was a forced one. Or maybe it had always been forced, maybe I had just failed to notice it before. What did I actually know about him? He wants to be Hokage, he lives in Konoha and his parents are probably dead. That's close to nothing...

But then again, what did he know about me? If he knew the truth about me, would he still be my friend? Of course he wouldn't. He wouldn't understand. No one would ever understand. The thought made me feel lonely, lonelier than when I was locked up in a basement. Then I hadn't had the faintest illusion of being free and making friends. But now... it was so close, but just outside my reach. True friends don't lie to each other.

But if I didn't lie, I'd lose him.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

I woke with a start. I wasn't sure how, but I somehow knew there was someone in the apartment. I got up from the soft futon soundlessly, following my instincts; whoever it was, he was in the kitchen. I grabbed one of my swords, unsheathed it and sneaked out.

The moonlight shone in from the window, and I saw a tall figure by the table. He had his back towards me, and he seemed to be busy putting things on the table.

'_I suppose that's why he hasn't heard me then.__' _I thought. Because this man had to be a ninja, wearing a uniform and all. He was also wearing a mask of some sort. I decided that I should let him know that I was there.

Using chakra, I moved rapidly and was behind him in a blink of an eye. He spun around, having sensed me, and even though I couldn't see his face for the mouse-mask he was wearing, I knew he was surprised to find a six-year old pointing a word at him.

"What are you doing here, Nezumi-san?" I asked him calmly. (A/N: nezumi-san: Mr. Mouse)

He seemed to not know what to say but he found himself quickly.

"Hokage-sama's orders. I'm here to leave a certain amount of money and a letter to Fuyuno Yuri-san."

"Why?"

He kept silent as a wall.

"Would telling you that I'm Yuri help?" I asked annoyingly. He _did_ wake me up, I had every right in the world to be annoyed.

"It's for your equipment. I don't know what's in the letter, I haven't opened it."

"Arigatou, Nezumi-san." I lowered my sword and smiled brightly at him.

"...My name's not Nezumi-san."

"What is it then?"

"That's a secret."

"Then I'll call you Nezumi-san!" I said and sticked my tongue out.

"..."

"... I think I'll be going now..." he said.

"Okay, bye, bye Nezumi-san! Say hi to Sandaime-san from me! Oyasumi." (A/N: oyasumi means goodnight)

Instead of replying, he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

I huffed. How rude!

**A/N****:Hellooooo!!! I hope you all enjoyed it! PLEAAASE REVIEW! I KNOW YOU WANT TO!** .

**Recommended story:**

**Fuck, I think my tv's broken**

**Written by:**

**Exhale vanilla lace**

**Bye!!**

**//Izuru-sama**

(push the button, I know you wan't to, c'mon, push it..!)

\ /

V


	7. Introductions

**Hello again! Thank you oh so much for reviewing, jasmine hatake-chan and anonymous-chan! **

**:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::**

'**Introductions'**

**:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::**

I looked up at the shop in front of me nervously. It had been marked out on the map that had been in the envelope together with a schedule for the academy (I was in the same class as naruto by the way.) and the letter from Sandaime-san. But what if I had taken a wrong turn somewhere? That would lead to embarrassing situations…

I re-read the letter for what had to be at least the hundredth time, just to make sure. (I was eternally grateful to nee-chan that I could read, because if not, it would have been a tad bit more complicated to get all the things I needed.)

'_Fuyuno Yuri-san,_

_The map in the envelope is a map of Konoha with a marked out shop. This shop sell basically all the equipment that you will need for your future training to become a kunoichi. The owner, Takuchi Aruki-san is a good friend of mine, so if you show him my official seal (the red mark at the bottom of the page), he will give you a good discount._

_Here's a list of what you'll need:_

_1 kunai-pouch_

_3 sets of kunai_

_1 shuriken holster_

_3 sets of shuriken_

_3 packages of explosive tags _

_1 pair of ninja sandals_

_3 (or more) training outfits of your own choice_

_1 ninja mesh outfit (it works as armor, so make sure you don't forget it)_

_(optional) weights; they will speed up your progress_

_I hope you find everything you need. If you get money left over, spend them as you wish. After you've bought your equipment, (you have to be finished before lunch time) go to the academy. Umino Iruka-sensei will meet you there. He is very easy to recognize; he has brown hair in a ponytail and a scar across his nose._

_Have a nice first day._

_(Insert a big red mark here)_

_Third Hokage of Konoha.'_

If it was the wrong store, I probably couldn't afford all this. That would be pretty awkward at the cash-desk. I sighed. Oh well. I _had_ checked the map quite a few times by now, and some people were starting to give me odd looks. Might as well go inside.

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When I was finally done, I put on my new equipment, rushed back to Naruto's place with the stuff I wouldn't use and then leaped the rooftops to the academy, wolfing down a couple of onigiri on the way there.

I loved my new clothes! They were so much easier to move in than the kimono, and the shoes were (although they might not look it) extremely comfy. I really felt like a ninja, dressed all in black. It felt a bit weird to wear weights, but I was determined to get strong.

My new training clothes consisted of black long sleeved top (I was adamant about the long sleaves. I had to hide my scars) and black shorts (I was thankful that there weren't any burn marks on them, the nurse had removed them with her jutsu), and of course my equipment; shuriken in their holsters strapped to my right and left leg (as soon as Takuchi-san found out I was neither right- or left-handed, I got an extra holster without extra cost, among of the many other things I got for free or at a really low price), kunai, explosive tags and smoke bombs in the kunai pouch, and of course my swords at my left hip.

They even managed to dig out a pair of sandals my size that wasn't blue but black as well, just because I said I liked black! And when Takuchi-san's wife found out it was my very first day, she even went trough the trouble of brushing my hair till it shone and tie a black ribbon in it. Come to think of it, the only colourful things on me were the two purple streaks in my hair. Even the small kitten shaped backpack with my notebooks and pens was black, as were the little bow it had on its head. I had the locket around my neck as usual, I never take it off anymore.

I smiled as I thought of the Takuchi couple. They really were nice… I knew that the discount I had gotten was a large one. I got plenty of money left over!

I landed on the roof of the academy stealthily (I had practiced A LOT at landing with Naruto. If I hadn't, I probably would have crashed head first, or spread eagle. Ouch.) I glanced down at the young man that stood on the ground beneath me. He had a high ponytail and a scar on his nose. I grinned. I didn't know why, but I felt like pranking. I jumped down landing soundlessly behind him, holding my breath I looked up cautiously. He hadn't noticed me. My grin widened. I drew in a deep, long breath…

"KONNICHIWA IRUKA-SENSEI!!!!" I yelled cheerfully at the top of my lungs.

I couldn't contain my laughter when he jumped several feet in the air and 'eeped!'

He spun around looking confused and turned beet-red in embarrassment when he saw me. I smiled brightly back at him. I had no idea what so ever where this confidence was coming from.

"I… didn't see you there." He laughed nervously, looking unsure if I should be punished or not. Then he shrugged slightly and composed himself. "You are the new girl, correct?" at my nod he continued. "Nice to meet you. You seem to know my name already and Hokage-sama told me yours, so introductions won't be necessary, ne Yuri-chan?"

I shrugged. "I guess not, Iruka-sensei."

"Well then, please follow me. We're going to the classroom, and then you'll get to introduce yourself to the class. They're currently taking notes on how to mold chakra, so you'll have to borrow someone else's notes and copy them so you don't get behind."

"Isn't it better to know things like that by heart though?" I asked, remembering Takuchi-san's advice.

"It's easier to learn it if you write it down." He said.

We entered the classroom, and immediately what felt like a hundred pair of eyes turned to look at me.

The new girl.

It grew quiet for a brief moment, then they began to talk and murmur amongst themselves. The confidence I had felt earlier was whisked away in a heartbeat. I suddenly didn't know were to put my hands or were to look. Should I smile at them? No, no smiling, they'll think I'm a freak. But I can't scowl either, can I? Ah, what to do?? Oh no, I made eye contact with someone! Look away, look away!!

"HI YURI-CHAN!!!" I looked up to find Naruto waving at me cheerfully from one of the rows. I could have run up and hugged him right there. Instead I smiled back brightly, feeling confidence rush back to me in a warm wave.

"Hi Naruto-kun!" I waved back.

"Alright class, quiet down." Iruka said with an authority that went ignored. an anime anger mark popped up on his forehead.

"I said QUIET!!" he boomed.

Wow. You could hear crickets chirping.

"As you can see, we have a new girl joining our class as of today. I expect all of you to be nice to her, alright?"

"Haaai." the children chorused.

"So, tell us about yourself." He said, turning to me. I froze up. I gotta talk too?! O.o

"A-Ano… what should I say?" brilliant! Now I was stuttering!

"Well, start with your name and what you like and dislike and if you have a goal or a dream, I guess."

"Okay…" I took a deep breath and looked out over the class, determined not to show any insecurity. How difficult could it be? I liked Miyako-nee-chan, I liked to be around flowers since it reminded me of her, and I remembered the first time I was outside the basement and I saw the sun, I couldn't look away. But if I said it like that, there would be questions. Oh well. Here goes.

I smiled and bowed elegantly, not too low, not too fast, hands on my thighs with fingers barely touching to show respect, just like the teachers at the camellia had hammered into my skull to do.

"Konnichiwa, I'm Fuyuno Yuri." I said pleasantly, rising from my bow. "I like Miyako-nee-chan, being outdoors, doing martial arts, and flowers. I dislike, eto…" I halted.

I disliked a lot of things. Oka-san. Having been looked up in a basement for the major part of life. Nee-chan's death. Tsubaki. Small spaces like The Room. Feeling pain. Being abused. The scars on my body. New Years Eve. My sadistic side. But if I told them that, they wouldn't dare to approach me, and I would be left without any friends, safe Naruto. But then again… I could always say what I disliked _about_ those things… right?

"Maa, I guess... bright, girly colours, being indoors for too long, fake people and… broccoli." I added with a grimace. I did _not_ like broccoli. "As for my dream…" I paused to again. I didn't want to lose anyone again because of my own weakness. Ever. "My dream, is to be strong and protect those I care about."

"Alright Yuri, you can take a seat next to Hinata over there." Iruka said, pointing at an indigo haired girl sitting next to a window.

I walked over and sat down next to her, hanging my tiny backpack over my chair. I _adored_ that bag! It was cute and _fuzzy_! If I hadn't known it was a backpack, I would've thought it was a plush toy.

I took out a pencil and my notebooks. Then I didn't know what to do. I looked around. All the others had their heads lowered, concentrating on their work. I glanced at Iruka-sensei for help, but he was busy helping someone else. I sighed.

'_I guess I have no choice.'_ I thought.

"A-Ano, I'm sorry to bother you, but could you please help me?" I whispered.

"Y-Y-You mean m-me?" she replied, her stutter even worse than mine.

"H-Hai. You're Hinata-san, right?" I smiled shyly.

"H-Hai, I'm Hinata… what do you need help with, Y-Y-Yuri-san?" she replied, just as shy.

I scratched the back of my head sheepishly.

"Eheheh…maa, everything? I don't even know what it is you're all writing…"

"O-Oh." She smiled nervously back at me. "I'm not s-s-s-sure if I can help though, I'm n-n-not th-that good at …anything… really." her smile faded and her eyes were downcast.

"A-Ano, I know that you're at least better than me, at least you know what to do in school, ne?" I smiled at her, and she smiled shyly back.

"So… help me? Please, Hinata-chan?" I smiled and cocked my head to the side.

"W-Well, if you think I can… Y-Yuri-chan." She looked up at me nervously through her bangs, as if asking me for permission.

"Arigato!" I beamed.

"O-Okay, we are taking notes about chakra. It's a spiritual energy, and…"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Luckily for me, the next lesson was easier; target practice. We were all placed in neat rows with one target each in front of us. I was hoping to be next to Hinata-chan and Naruto kun, but instead I got placed on the end of the row, so the only one next to me was a dark-haired boy _I_ didn't know, though some of the girls in my class seem to know him quite well, since they kept following him around all day and declaring their love to him. The boy didn't seem to be too happy with that though, he kept scowling at them. I briefly wondered _why_ they kept following him even though he obviously didn't like it. But I shrugged it off. Maybe it was customary; I wouldn't know, I wasn't from around here after all. Maybe it was his birthday, and this was a strange way to congratulate him..? Hmm. Yeah. That was probably it. I made a mental note to congratulate him later. Sure, I didn't know him, but one should be polite, right?

It was nice to be outside the warm classroom, but hitting bull's eye became a little tricky since it was pretty windy that day. But after chucking kunai and shuriken at a log for about forty minutes, it gets old. After those specific forty minutes, I decided I was fed up, and went over to Iruka-sensei. I tugged at his shirt sleeve to get his attention.

"Yes?" he looked at me. "You need help with throwing the kunai?"

"No. I'm bored." I stated.

"Well, you still have to practice." He frowned.

"Why? I already hit the bulls eye." I complained.

"It doesn't matter if you hit it once, you need to be able to hit it dead center _always_." He explained patiently, as if he was trying to tell a three year old that no, you can't put the cat in the washing machine.

"But I already do that! Isn't there anything more difficult for me to do?"

His eyes widened a bit. Then he composed himself. "Show me that you can do it first."

I nodded and pulled out two kunai, one in each hand. I threw the one in my right hand: bull's eye. Then the left one: right next to the previous one, grazing it with a metallic noise as it went. I turned to Iruka-sensei with a triumphant grin. My grin widened when he looked dumbfounded. I noticed from the corner of my eye that the dark-haired boy threw a glance at me and then scowled even more, attacking his target with new energy. I frowned. What was that supposed to mean?

"Err… this is the first time you try this?" he asked hesitantly.

I nodded vigorously, grinning from ear to ear.

"Either you have incredible luck… or you're a natural." He smiled and I felt pride swell in me. "Well done. Now, you said you wanted to do something more difficult, right?"

"Hai, Iruka-sensei!" I replied eagerly.

"Alright. Wait here." He said and walked off with a smile. I decided right then and there that I liked Iruka-sensei. That makes it… I counted on my fingers… six people I liked in Konoha. Naruto-kun, Sandaime-san, Takuchi-san and Takuchi-san's wife, Iruka-sensei and Hinata-chan. I felt a little overwhelmed. I had so many friends already!

I was brought out of my reverie by Iruka-sensei placing down two seemingly heavy targets next to the one I already had with a loud thump. He adjusted them so that they had the same distance to each other. Then he walked over to me.

"Okay. I want you to try and hit the bull's eye on all those tree…" I nodded. That seemed easy enough. "…at the same time." My shoulders sagged. Dammit! "Now, are you right- or left-handed?"

"I'm both, I think… I mean, I can write with both my hands without a problem."

"Hoo? You're lucky, then. Then you don't have to train more with the other. In that case…" he walked over to the targets, dug around in his pockets for a permanent marker and drew target circles beneath the original ones. "In that case, your goal is to hit the bull's eye on all these targets at the same time. Now, you might not be able to do it on your first try, so try to hit two first, then three and so on up to six. That might be easier for you. Okay? Work hard." He smiled again and walked off to help a student who kept hitting his neighbor's target instead of his own, earning irritated yells from said person.

With that, I turned to the matter at hand. One kunai in between each finger (not the thumb though), I threw.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Gah! So frustrating! Just who the hell was she anyway?! The minute she came into the classroom, I inwardly groaned. 'Oh god, not another fangirl' I thought. I had enough of those squealing _things_ already. And it got worse when I realized she knew the idiot ramen-freak. Uugh…

I didn't bother to listen as she introduced herself, why should I care? Probably liked things like dolls and kittens and whatnot. Probably disliked getting dirty and the likes of that. See? That's how painfully obvious all girls are.

What was so frustrating was how easy seemed to be for her! I practiced every day for a week before I hit the bull's eye all the time. And here she was, on her first day, and did it just like that! And now Iruka-sensei let her practice with not only three (like me) but _six_ targets! It was so unfair! _I_ was supposed to be top of the class!

I scowled and gave the targets a death glare, as it was their fault. It was bad enough that nii-san always beat me at everything, now her too? I threw the kunai and groaned in exasperation. They were yet again was a bit off the center. The first from the left was dead centre, but the two others were always a bit off.

"A-Ano?" a timid voice spoke up. I turned to the source of it, expecting to see Hinata.

"What!?" I snarled.

She winced at my voice. It wasn't Hinata. It was that new girl, whoever she was.

"A-Ano, you almost hit the bull's eye one those two, but you always miss it, so… I was wondering if you needed any help…?"

"I don't need your help." I cut off and turned to continue what I was doing before she interrupted me.

"But if you don't need any help, why don't you hit it dead center?" she asked. It wasn't an insult, she sounded genuinely confused.

"I don't need your help." I repeated and threw the kunai hoping it would hit bull's eye so she would just leave me alone. The kunai didn't like me today, and got even more off target than before. I felt like kicking something. Preferably her.

"See, what you do wrong is that you release them at the same time." I fought the urge to twitch. How did she get behind me without me noticing?

"You have to release them one at a time in a fluid motion, like you're opening a fan."

I twitched. "I have never opened a fan in my life." I said through clenched teeth. Why oh why couldn't she just _go away_?!

"Oh. Well, you have to release them in order… uh.. how to explain this…? Ah!" she exclaimed and whipped out a black fan from absolutely nowhere. "The fan can't open up all at once, you have to start somewhere, and continue from there. It's the same with the kunai. You have to release them one at a time."

I sighed. Fine. I give up. I might as well do as she says so she'll just shut it leave me alone after that.

I went up to that targets, removed the kunai and went back. Without really believing they would hit, I threw the kunai. To my surprise, they all hit dead centre. I turned to the girl behind me, just to find that she wasn't there. She was back at her previous spot, throwing kunai with both hands against six targets. She turned to me with a small smile on her face.

"You're welcome."

I muttered a "thank you" and continued to practice.

"Oh, and happy birthday by the way!" she beamed. My eye twitched. What the…?

"It's not my birthday."

"Hm? It isn't? But why were those girls following you around then?" she mused.

"…what has got to do with anything?" Was she an idiot?

"Well, I just came to Konoha, so I'm not used to everything here. I thought it was the way to congratulate someone here." She said with a shrug.

"It's not. What kind of bizarre place do you come from if you think that?"

"Hmm… who knows? But it really is a weird place, Konoha…"

"If anyone's weird it's you." I scoffed.

"So ka… I didn't know I was weird. Hmmm." She said with an absentminded look on her face as she threw another six kunai at the targets, hitting dead center with a rapid six thuds.

"Okay, break time!" Iruka sensei called.

Yes! Finally a chance to escape!

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A/N: Hello all!!!!!! I'm so sorry for the wait, and I know that this chapter doesn't really bring the story forward much, but school's about to start (Thursday, and today's Sunday) so things are a bit hectic.

-.-'

AND I GOT SO MANY REVIEWS!!!!!!!!! I DON'T EVEN DESERVE THIS MANY!!!!!

To all of you who reviewed, **THANK YOU SOO FREAKING MUCH!!!!**

You all get hugs, cookies, parades and festivals (_WITH FIREWORKS!!_ :3)

()()

(^.^)

And a bunny. (if you can see it's a bunny, haha)

THANKS TO:

7thDwarf

KyuubiJinchuuriki

Cherry Blossom Haiku

Anomous Duckweed

Anonomous

Jasmine Hatake

I love reading your reviews, I love knowing that you like my story and I love you.

I gotta go, cause I'm about to fall asleep onthe key board,, I thinjk my spelllin g might be suffering right now, I jjusnt kingda tired…….ajnajrjjjn

//IZZURU_sama


	8. Author's Note

Aiyaa!! I forgot to recommend a story in chapter 4 and 7!!!why didn't you teeellll meeeee?!?!?

I'm so sorry!!

Here it comes:

Ninja Highschool by LetsFaceTheMusic

By Chance by Lolliot

And just cause I love you so much, here's a third one!

Requiem For A Dying Heart by tranquilwriter

Once again, SOOOOORRRYYYYY!!!

Gotta go!


	9. Enter! The Not So Scary Cherry Blossom!

**HIIII!!!!!! HERE'S ANOTHA CHAPTAH!! WAAAAAAAAAI!!! (spazz on coffee, don't expect anything sensible from me right now)**

**Okay, I can practically feel the murderous intent from not updating, ahahahahaa…. **

**Oh!! And Jasmine Hatake is now officially my beta!! She's working reaaally hard, so please be nice to her!!!!**

**Okay, that's basically it, I guess! Enjoy! **

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'**Enter! The Not So Scary Cherry Blossom!'**

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The third Hokage was not a happy bunny. In fact, he wasn't a bunny at all. Unfortunately, that particular fact didn't make him happier in the least. Not only had he found out about what the Camellia was actually doing, but also the Crane. And he didn't like it one bit. The mere thought that it had been going on in his beloved village right under his nose for god knows how long made him shudder. Battle he could handle, but slave trade with children… that played in an entirely different league to him.

It turned out that the Crane had been selling off the boys as manpower when they reached their teens, camouflaging it as adoption. But still, the boys were far better off than the girls… Sarutobi felt a chill wander up his spine. The girls were lucky if they were sold as servants or even slaves compared to what the majority of them were sold off to do. It would seem that a lot of men liked young girls.

Sarutobi sighed. Now he had to clean this mess up and find homes for the remaining children. Those who were already 'adopted' were impossible to trace as there were no records of who 'adopted' them or when it happened. They had only found receipts.

*****

I didn't have anything against her. Really, I didn't. I simply didn't _care_ for her. Yah, that's it. Just like I didn't care for Miyako.

I sighed. Honestly, how ignorant and trusting could one get? I mean, she didn't even suspect Miyako at all! Think about it! What are the chances that someone takes in a half-conscious kid they happen to find on the streets without even asking questions, _just being nice_? Let's face it, _there's no such thing_ in this world as being nice and helping others without profiting from it in some way. It could be anything really. Exchange of favors, getting paid for it, leaving a good impression on others making them like you, or your own satisfaction knowing you did something good.

I guess in Miyako's case it was partly loneliness. Anyone with a demon inside of them was damned to be shunned by those who knew of it. Why else would she live so far from the village? But it was only _partly_ loneliness, and that part was not a big one.

Knowing Miyako took in Yuri for her own gain, yet still hearing "Miyako-nee-chan this" and "Miyako-nee-chan that", _all the fucking time_, and still have to keep up the façade as the caring older brother, it was so frustrating! Her precious "Miyako-nee-chan" hadn't cared one bit!

*****

I looked around the playground for Hinata-chan, but she was nowhere to be seen.

"Ne, ne, Yuri-chan!!! Over here 'ttebayo!!!!!"

Luckily, Naruto was hard to miss. I smiled and skipped over to him by the tree with the swing and sat down on it. It felt like it was becoming more and more like 'our' place.

"Hi, Naruto-kun."

"Ne, ne I saw that you talked with the teme! Was he mean to you 'ttebayo?!" he asked worriedly.

"Eh?" I blinked and cocked my head to the side. "The teme?"

"Yeah, Sasuke-teme dattebayo! He's the one with black hair!"

"Aaah! The grumpy boy with the huge scowl on his face! Nah, I just helped him with the kunai. He wasn't very nice, though." I wrinkled my nose.

"So he _was_ mean to you! I'll beat him up dattebayo!!"

"Oi, oi! Calm down!" I said grabbing his wrist to hold him back. "He was rude and grumpy, but not mean! Calm down!"

"Hm? Oh, okay then." He said, immediately happy as fudge. I sweatdropped. Oi….

"So, how do you like it so far?"

"Weeeell, I think I made another friend!" I said excitedly.

"Wah! Really, 'ttebayo? Who is it? Is it Sakura-chan?" he asked with an eagerness only a six year old can muster. I flinched.

_Fear not the cherry blossoms…_

I shook it off. Whoever she was, she was no threat to me, right? "No, it's Hinata-chan! She's really nice, she let me copy her notes and everything and she even explained things about chakra really good! Though she keeps hiding her eyes behind her hair for some reason…" I looked down and brought my finger to my lower lip in thought. "I think she's really, really shy, ne?" I said looking up with a smile.

"Yeah, whenever I see her, she kind of hides behind the nearest person. And I think she easily gets ill or something, cause she's red in the face like she's got a fever, and she even passes out sometimes 'ttebayo." Naruto said with a pondering look on his face.

I frowned. Hinata-chan was ill? If she passes out it must be pretty serious…

"Ne, is it serious, Hinata-chan's disease I mean?"

"I don't know, I'm not with her much. I just see her in class, really."

"So ka…" then it hit me. "Naruto-kun! What if she's passed out somewhere and no one knows where she is!? She could get really hurt!!" I said frantically.

"AH! You're right 'ttebayo! We have to find her!" and with that, he dashed off and disappeared at anime speed.

"Eh? Where'd he go?" I blinked and looked around confusedly.

"Oi! You like Sasuke-kun, right?" came an irate voice from behind me. I turned around and came face to face with angry green eyes.

*****

'_Waah!! Gotta find Hinata 'ttebayo!! __She could be hurt!! Hm?' _he stopped his mad dash to look around in confusion._ ' Ara? Where'd Yuri-chan go 'ttebayo?! Ah! Maybe she went on ahead of me!! Wow, she's fast! Better catch up 'ttebayo!!' _but before he could speed off again, he found Hinata sitting by herself next to one of the thick tree trunks they used to strengthen their kicks and punches. She was twiddling a daisy in her hands, and she looked like she was having an inner argument. Of course, Naruto didn't register any of this, all he saw was 1) Hinata's over there and 2) she's not passed out.

"Oi, Hinata! I've been looking for you 'ttebayo!" he yelled animatedly as he ran over.

Hinata looked up with a start and turned into a vibrant shade of red that would make any radish jealous.

"N-N-N-Naruto-kun's been looking f-f-f-f-for me?" she stuttered, twiddling the daisy even more.

"Yeah, Yuri-chan and I were worried that you had passed out again, so we went looking dattebayo. Have you seen her, by the way? I thought she ran ahead of me 'ttebayo."

'_Naruto-kun was worried about me…'_ Hinata felt a glint of happiness inside.

"Ne, Hinata, you're all red! You've a fever 'ttebayo?" Naruto said and put his forehead to hers to check her temperature. As anyone (safe Naruto) can figure out, Hinata passed out in a heartbeat.

"Ack! Hinata 'ttebayo!"

*****

Green eyes… just like oka-san. I felt a cold shiver go down my back. I brushed it off. This clearly wasn't her; she had pink hair with red ribbon in it (I shuddered at sight. Red and pink don't go together people!) And she was my age.

"Oi! Are you ignoring me?!" she exclaimed.

"Hm? Sorry, I wasn't listening. What did you say?" I asked honestly.

An anime vein popped out of her forehead. "I said, do you like Sasuke-kun or not?"

I took in her angry posture, the anime vein, her through-gritted-teeth voice and answered.

"Ne, you have a short fuse don't you?" seeing another anime vein pop out, I came to the conclusion that it might be a good idea to answer her question. Yeah.

"No, I don't like him," I said hurriedly. Seeing her relax visibly, I thought, hey, why not add more to the pile, maybe she'll cheer up and become my friend? I mean, she _clearly_ doesn't like this Sasuke-person.

"Yeah, now that I think about it, I really don't like him! I hate that person's guts!" I continued chatting away happily. "I've only just met him, but he's sooo grumpy and rude, doesn't accept help even though he clearly needs it, and what's up with that face he keeps making anyway?" I looked at her expectantly for her reaction. It didn't really come out like I thought it would. Frankly speaking, she was pissed.

'_**HA! Can't wait to see how this turns out!' **_Touki tittered. _**'Ooo, what's this? Ne, imouto-chan, it looks like she's got a spirit too! Well, either that or she's bipolar.'**_

'_Huh? How can you tell?' _I asked, ignoring his previous remark.

'_**A woman's intuition.'**_

I sweatdropped. _'Oi, nii-chan, you sure you're not a nee-chan?'_

That aside I could see what he meant. What I was looking at was the terror we know by the name 'inner-Sakura'. A fearful sight indeed.

**SMACK**!

I didn't even have time to blink before her fist landed on my cheek pumped with inner-Sakura power. I rubbed my cheek to get rid of the stinging sensation, and glared at her.

"Oi! What was that for?" I demanded in an angry low voice.

"That's for talking about Sasuke-kun like that!" she yelled back. "You don't even know him!"

"Yeah, I don't know him, but he didn't really try to be nice either!"

"Why would he be nice to you?" she shot back loudly. Ugh, even her voice was as unpleasant as her eyes… just as shrill as oka-san… is this some kind of sick joke, huh?!

"Why wouldn't he?" I calmly pointed out. God, did she have to yell? Others were starting to look! "And did you really have to slap me just for that?"

At this she just huffed.

"Well, it's not like it hurt, so I guess I can forgive you. You've got a really weak right anyways, you know that? And _you_ want to be a kunoichi… pffft!" I trailed off with a scornful and pitying smile. I didn't know why, but this girl seriously pissed me off.

Before she could reply, Iruka-sensei announced that it was time for the next class. It was the one I had looked forward to most; Taijutsu.

*****

Meanwhile, Naruto had taken Hinata to the infirmary. The problem was just that every time Hinata woke up, Naruto would ask her if she was okay, then put his forehead to hers to check her temperature. This of course would make her pass out again. Poor idiot never learns, does he now?

*****

We were being paired up against each other; this wasn't a lesson to practice katas. This time we would fight for real. Well, okay not _really_ for real, Iruka sensei had said we weren't allowed to use any jutsus, but as I didn't know any, it really didn't matter to me. I was bouncing around on the spot excitedly, not able to wipe the grin off my face.

'_Nii-chan, nii-chan!!! We're gonna fiiiight!!! Ne, ne, did you hear?? We're gonna fiiiight!! Ooo, I hope I'll get paired up with Sakura!!! Kyaaaaa~~~!!!!! 33' _I fangirled.

'_**Mou, mou I get it alrea-... Oi, why you wanna be paired up with that Sakura brat? Wasn't she like really weak? Don't you wanna fight Naruto or Hinata?'**_

'_I don't wanna hold back, and I just can't go all out on Hinata-chan or Naruto-kun. But Sakura… I wanna show her how a punch really is supposed to feel, meheheh...' _I tittered evilly.

'_**... sure, knock yourself out.'**_

'_Will do!_' I imaginary saluted him_._

"... Ayusawa Ren, you will go against Akiyama Yuu, Yamanaka Ino with Miyamoto Akane and Haruno Sakura with Fuyuno Yuri. Then, please spread out everyone. Remember, _no_ jutsus or weapons allowed." Iruka-sensei finished.

'_**Lady Fortuna smiles upon you, imounto-chan.' **_Touki said with an audible smirk.

'_Maa, I don't know who she is, but she must be pretty nice, ne? Tell her I smile back. :3'_

'_**Let's**_** s**_**how her what a real fight is like, ne? Do you need any help with the swords?'**_

'_Nii-chan, weapons aren't allowed, besides, I don't need any help. Thanks anyway.'_

'_**Awww, but I'm sooo boooored!!! Have you any idea what it's like to be unable to do anything but sit on my arse and watch while you're getting all the fun, huh? Do ya?!'**_

'…_well, too bad.'_

'_**Ah, the cruelty of my sister!' **_Touki sobbed.

"Are you done staring off into space? Are you gonna fight me or not?" Sakura said impatiently.

At this I removed the ribbon from my hair in one swift motion and used it to tie my hair up in a high ponytail while smiling darkly at her. I narrowed my eyes boring my frosty gaze into hers, unnerving her.

"Of course I'll fight you." I said sweetly. "But before we begin, I have a question."

"W-What?" she said, trying and failing at keeping her voice level.

"Do you want me to hold back or not?"

"As if you _could_ hold back when fighting me! I'm the best girl in our class!" she huffed haughtily.

"I'll take that as a 'no' then." I nodded to myself, and then slipped into a defensive stance. "Go on, then. Attack me." I said as uninterestedly I could to provoke her.

"Hah, this'll be easy. You couldn't even block a slap!" she said triumphantly and charged at me. Her movements were more precise and fluent than Naruto's. However…

The punch she threw at me was weak, _waaay_ weaker than his. I grabbed her wrist with my left hand and yanked hard at it, making her stumble forward and leaving her wide open. I smirked and elbowed her hard in the back and kneeing her gut at the same time, adding a tiny little bit of chakra in the blows. Okay, maybe not so tiny then. Her cry of pain was music to my ears and I smiled dreamily. Oh yeah. I was gonna be a ninja alright.

Disappointed that it had only lasted so long I threw her firmly to the ground, locking her in place by holding her arm in a painful angle behind her back and crouching down with a foot on her head, dirtying her hair.

""Best girl in class", huh?" I scoffed, looking down on her with contemptuous eyes.

She didn't answer; she looked like she was about to cry. I guess I hit her pretty hard, ne…? Still…

I wrinkled my nose in disdain. _'Pathetic.'_ Well, I certainly had absolutely _nothing_ to fear from the cherry blossoms.

"Since I beat you, I guess I'm the best now, ne?" I said nonchalantly.

"Itai! Y-You don't have to be so violent! It's only a spar!" she whimpered.

"So you can be violent for stupid reasons and I can't? " I pondered out loud, honestly bewildered.

"My Sasuke-kun isn't stupid!!" she snarled and actually managed to get free from me and up on her feet. "I underestimated you, that's the only reason you got me! I'm still the best!" she shouted.

"Hai, hai, and still as loud as ever." I deadpanned. "Let me know when you're ready, kay?" I added in a bored fashion. I didn't even bother to slip into a stance, infuriating her further. Meh, what can I say? She pissed me off.

This time, she bit back the comment I knew had to be burning on her tongue and simply grit her teeth and got in a defensive stance. I smiled. Finally she was being serious! This match could actually get interesting…

Hmm. Iruka-sensei never forbade using chakra, did he…? My smile widened considerably. Oh this was gonna be fuuun~~!!! I mentally squealed like a Sasuke fangirl seeing him in the shippuuden arc and shirtless.

'…_**oi, you're scaring me here.'**_

I ignored my oh-so brave brother and charged, building up chakra in my legs. When I reached her I dropped to the ground, aiming at her with a low sweeping kick which she jumped over and countered with her own dropping axe kick, which I evaded by rolling to the side. I jumped to my feet and back flipped, landing on my hands I then began to spin my legs around moving towards her rapidly, earning me a surprised cry and a few nice hits to her sides. I leapt back onto my feet, jumped up in the air and did my very first roundhouse kick, sending the pink pain in the neck hurling to the ground where she skidded a good few metres before she stopped. Now, she really was crying. I on the other hand, felt refreshed and better than ever.

'_Ahh, feels gooood~!!! Maybe I could get used to being sadistic, ne nii-chan? Didn't the song say 'embrace the darkness within?''_

'… _**Have I ever told you you're weird?'**_

'_Hai. You have.'_

'_**Ne, you know what?'**_

'_Hmm, nani?'_

'_**Yuri-chan, you're weird.'**_

'…_so ka… (-.-);'_

I walked over to Sakura, the 'cherry blossom'. I guess I should feel bad for her. Oh well. At least I'm honest with myself.

Anyhow, I didn't feel like looking at Sakura all day, so naturally I look up right? And I _shouldn't_ find something really strange when I do that, right? Right?

It seems Sakura has friends (_le gasp!_). I eyed the angry group of girls led by a warily. And they're _not_ happy.

I gulped. I had a feeling saying something like "Eheh, whoops?" wouldn't work here.

Oh well. It could be worse, right?

"HI YURI-CHAAN!! I'm back now 'ttebayo!! Hinata's in the infirmary and-"

Naruto's cheery rant came to an abrupt halt when he saw Sakura on the ground, whimpering pathetically while surrounded by her friends. He slowly looked over at me, all cheerfulness completely gone. "Ne, what happened to Sakura-chan?" he asked in a low voice.

Not seeing the problem, I answered casually. "We sparred. I was stronger, so I beat her to the ground. Why?"

Naruto's expression froze for a split second, then it twisted into a furious grimace. "_YOU_ DID THIS TO HER 'TTEBAYO!?" he bellowed.

And it wasn't until then, when I looked into the blazing eyes of a furious Naruto, that I realised the reason I should fear the cherry blossom. She couldn't harm me physically, but on the other hand…

...she could take away my best friend.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

**Thank you all who reviewed on the last chapter!! I really, really, really appreciate it!!**

**PARADES AND CATNIP TO:**

**Cherry Blossom Haiku**

**Jasmine Hatake**

**7th Dwarf**

**Anomous duckweed**

**And I'm not sure I thanked all you guys who faved and alerted this story, so I'm gonna do it now!**

**CAKES AND FUNNY HATS TO:**

**Black Rift Of Insanity**

**Jasmine Hatake**

**KyuubiJinchuuriki**

**Little Hana-Chan**

**Missmimi123**

**NinjaVampirate**

**Reconix**

**CherryBlossomHaiku**

**7th Dwarf**

**Anomous duckweed, here comes the reply to your review: YAAY!! PARTAY!! BRING IN THE BOOZE!!! Thank you so much!! I'm glad you liked the chapter and I'm especially glad you liked Sasuke's pov!! I was really worried about that one, I didn't want him to be ooc, but I didn't want him to be emotionless and boring either ^.~' thank you for reading and reviewing!!**

**POLL UPDATE!!!**

**Currently, there's a tie between YurixSasuke and YurixNaruto. Keep voting, the poll is closing in January! (I think so, anyways. Haven't really decided yet :S)**


	10. A Heathen Ritual

**I AM SO LATE, AND I AM SO SORRY AND ****YOU HAVE MY PERMISSION TO SHOOT ME!!! (**but please refrain from doing so, it's Christmas after all)

'**A Heathen Ritual'**

Iruka-sensei was having a very serious talk with me about sparring etiquette. I wasn't really listening though. From my point of view, she had it coming. Besides, I couldn't really focus on what Iruka-sensei was saying after I saw Naruto-kun like that. Did he like her? Was she a precious friend to him?

No… she couldn't be. She was too unkind, too hot-tempered… too much. Why would Naruto-kun be her friend?

'_**And why would Naruto be friends with you, hmm? At least Sakura isn't a murderer.'**_Touki pointed out.

'_True…__but still…everyone was bound to get hurt during training, right?'_

'_**Well, I think that's more of the scraped knees level kind of hurt. You could have broken her ribs for all you know.'**_

I hadn't had the time to explain to him why I did what I did, since sensei had come running over to find out what the commotion was about. Naturally the witnesses either knew nothing, or took Sakura's side. Just perfect.

Iruka-sensei apparently took my absentmindedness and lowered gaze as a sign of regret, and told me I wouldn't be punished as long as I apologised to Sakura, who now was being patched up in the infirmary.

I gulped. I hadn't even thought about punishments! What if the academy had places like the room back at the camellia…? No way, it was probably worse here, since the academy taught us to fight, not how to smile, walk and talk the right way. The punishments had to be harsher here if the education was, right?

I shuddered at the thought of the camellia. Little clones of oka-san everywhere…

"Come on, let's go and say sorry."

The walk to the infirmary went by quicker than I had wished for. What was I supposed to say to her? How could she possibly forgive me for what I did? Did she hate me now? I know I'd hate her if the roles were reversed…

Sensei opened the door and we entered. And I didn't have a clue what to say to Sakura. I looked around discretely. The room wasn't that big, but it was big enough to fit three beds separated by screens. Like in the hospital, the walls were a glaringly bright white colour. Two of the beds were occupied. In the one closest to me I could see the form of a beet-red, swirly-eyed unconscious Hinata-chan. I cringed when I saw her. Poor Hinata-chan… she must be really ill… and I even forgot all about her when I fought with Sakura! I was feeling guiltier by each moment.

The bed on the right side of Hinata-chan's was empty, so the bed on the left of hers had to have Sakura in it, though I couldn't see her, since the screen was in the way. I hesitated. I knew I had to face her sooner or later, but…

"I'll sit over there if you need anything." Iruka-sensei said. It took a moment for me to understand why he would abandon the class just for that, and then I got it. He was staying so he could make sure I didn't do something to Sakura! I huffed. Well, that's a trusting teacher I got there!

I built up the courage I knew I would need to face her, told myself that I could do it (though I didn't really believe it) and walked around the screen with determined steps…

…only to find an asleep Sakura.

(Insert major sweat drop here.)

I quickly looked her over. She wasn't badly hurt. Not even a bandage in sight, only a few band-aids here and there. Then again, I hadn't put a lot of chakra in the blows I'd dished out. Okay, yes, I _tried_ to, well I _thought_ I did, but I couldn't squeeze out the amount I wanted to. Could one get low on chakra? If that was possible, then were did the chakra go? Did it just float around in the air? Were there chakra-clouds?

…were they _fluffy_…?

While pondering on this, I pulled out a nearby chair and sat down. If I was going to wait until she woke up, I figured I might as well sit down while waiting.

I began to look at her more intently. I didn't know if she was dreaming or not, but her face was drawn into a grimace of pain. I supposed that could be from her wounds though. They weren't serious in any way, but they still hurt, I thought.

I sighed. God, I didn't know what to say! Who would have thought that saying one little word could be so hard? And she wasn't even awake yet! There was simply no way I was apologizing to her!

She. Had. It. Coming!

But then again, sensei wouldn't let me leave unless I said it...

"Well, okay…" I whispered to myself. "Sakura, I'm sorry." I blurted out.

…

_Silence_.

…

_Mooore_ silence…..

…

"…go away…" she muttered sourly.

I blinked. She was awake and; what? Well hallelujah! That solves my problem!

"I'll be leaving then!" I stood up and cringed. Crap, both my legs had fallen asleep! Walking was going to be such a pain…

Never the less I merrily skipped away over to the door but was stopped dead in my tracks by Iruka-sensei's look. Oookay, maybe I should go back and apologize to her properly, yeah…

And guess what happened then?

_MORE_ _silence_!! Yaaay!!

I twitched. Was it just me, or was this getting pretty damn awkward?

"Do you two need help?" came Iruka-sensei's voice.

_S__iiiiilence_.

"I'll take that as a yes."

Soon Iruka-sensei came into view, looking like he wanted this whole thing to be over and done with. Well, I can't blame him.

"Alright you two shake hands and apologize." Iruka-sensei said sternly.

Sakura and I glowered at each other and then turned away from each other with a huff, no one making a move to apologize or showing the slightest hint of regret.

Iruka-sensei looked at us and sighed.

"Now, I understand why you are mad at each other…." _No you don't._

"…and I think that deep down, you don't want to fight each other…" _yes we do_.

"… Because we're all part of this village, and we should all work together like a family." _I'm not from here! And I don't want her in my family!_

"Sakura, you were acting provocative towards Yuri, and that was bad, especially since it's her first day…" _damn straight she was provocative! ...wait, what does that mean?_

"…And Yuri, you were out of control. What you did is unacceptable. When sparring, you only exchange blows for practicing purposes only. You don't beat each other up." _I wasn't out of control. I knew exactly what I was doing. And she's not that beaten up._

"The only way to clear this up is for you two to put this behind you and forgive each other." _Fat. Chance. _

In the end we apologised and shook hands. We even smiled at each other. Of course, this was only so that Iruka-sensei would stop bothering us. The minute he turned away from us, it was all glares again. Hers was heated and promised that I was sooo gonna get it someday, while mine said 'you just try it, I'll even give you a handicap, wuss.'

All in all, if a fly went in between our glares, it'd get zapped.

But on the bright side, Naruto-kun (thinking me and Sakura were now best friends or something) wasn't mad at me anymore, and later when we were back in class, Hinata-chan came back from the infirmary saying she wasn't ill (Which of course had to be a lie, the poor girl.). Naruto-kun also mentioned something about ramen. I'm still not sure what exactly ramen is, he was drooling too much, so I couldn't really hear what he was saying. But I think I heard something about the 'Icha raku' or something, which just made me more confused. There were so many new mysterious words!

0o0o0o0o0o0

I got a surprise when I got "home", aka Naruto-kun's apartment. (I think that's what it's called. _Apartment_. It's such a long word!) And there was that rude mouse again! He was shamelessly climbing out the window like he owned the place! Well, this took the prize! There was _no way_ that I was gonna accept having the Pink Pest (nickname time!) thrown in my face, sensei lecturing me for an hour and a half about being nice in a fight (how is that logical!?) and when I get home find Nezumi-teme (Yes, he's now a teme. 'Nuff said.) merrily hopping around! NUH! UH!

That being said (thought?), I promptly leaped up to the window next door (And LORD did that hurt my leg muscles! I'm worn out!), and flung a shuriken at him.

"OI!! Baka-Nezumi-teme!!! Catch!" I inwardly laughed sadistically. Yes, you shall _**suffer**_, for I am _pissed_!

And wouldn't you know it; he caught the little bugger and threw it at me!

"NEZUMI-TEMEEEE!!!! WHYYYYY????" I whipped out a kunai and tried to block the shuriken with it, imitating the movements I'd seen Iruka-sensei do one time.

…which only lead to me miserably fumbling with the weapons pouch and finally sent me down to the ground, landing gracefully on my butt. One word: ow. Just ow. Well, at least it wasn't spread-eagle…?

"You started it." He was smirking, wasn't he? Teme…

And that, is the story how I, Fuyuno Yuri, fought an anbu at the tender age of six. Aren't I awesome?

0o0o0

After the Pink Pest incident, the days seemed to fly. The reason Nezumi-san (Yes, he's now a –san) had been in Naruto-kun's apartment was to drop off another envelope for me, containing money, another letter from Sandaime-san and a key with a mini zebra plushie keyring on it. (Yes, I know what zebras are; I've seen them in picture books.). The key was for my very own apartment, I read in the letter, and the money should cover my living expenses for the next month. Now this is what makes a teme into a san; bringing me money and a zebra plushie with a key to my own place. I am very grateful to Naruto-kun, but he _snores really loud_ and he _keeps talking about "Sakura-chan" in his sleep! _Getting my own place was really great!

It also said in the letter that I should meet Sandaime-san later, in about a month I think, but it didn't say why. Oh well, no matter.

I stared starry eyed at the wad of money in my hands. I had never seen so much money at the same time! What should I spend it on? There were so many things I could buy, like those rollerblades I've seen the older kids use, or a really cool ninja outfit that wasn't just for training, or another plushie backpack…! Maybe I could get a pet!! Or some new cool weapons!! Kyaa~!!

But then my rational mind kicked in. This had to last a whole month. I should save as much as I could. I sighed disappointedly. Nee-chan's stingy personality had probably rubbed off on me.

But hey, I got my own apartment now!

0o0o0

This morning wasn't like any other morning. Of course, I didn't know this at first, it would take me a good five or ten minute or so to figure out what was so unusual about this particular morning. But it started like any other day.

I arrived just in time for class, actually, the door was just about to close when I skidded in and tried to catch my breath. That was one unusual thing; me being late.

After apologizing to sensei, I made my way over to an unusually grumpy Naruto-kun, who was glaring at a certain teme. That's another unusual thing; a grumpy Naruto-kun, not the Teme-glaring.

I don't actually think Sasuke is a teme seeing as I don't know that much about him, but Naruto-kun is my friend, so the ones he calls teme, I call teme. I just wish he'd do the same thing...

And no, I'm not looking at the Pink Pest....

Anyways, when I "wasn't" looking at the PP, I noticed that she was staring a lot at the Teme. Well, that isn't too unusual, but she had these pink hearts in her eyes... okay, that's really not unusual either...

But what was unusual though, was that every single girl (and some of the boys too, mind you), well safe Hinata-chan and I were staring at the very same Teme, and had the very same expression on their faces. I suddenly got an image in my head of a pack of wolves eyeing a piece of fresh meat. The Teme didn't seem too comfortable either. He kept looking back and forth to the door, and every time a female voice said anything, he'd twitch in a kinda paranoid way.

_A bit jumpy eh, Teme?_

_**Oooh, he should be...! **_Touki tittered.

_Hm? Why?_

_**Tsk, tsk. Don't you know what day it is today? I bet every girl in here knows!**_

_Of course I know what day it is! I'm going to see Sandaime-san tomorrow, so it's February fourteenth._

_**Mm-hmm! Well, there's your answer, sis!**_

_Stop acting so smug! Tell me!_

_**It's Valentine's Day, baka. That's why the Teme is so jumpy. I bet all the girls in here **__**attack him every year. **_He snickered again._** I can't waaai~t to see iiit!!!**_

_...nii-chan? Is __Valentine's Day some kind of heathen ritual were they sacrifice boys to the Valentine god?_

Now, I couldn't see Touki-nii-chan, but I'm pretty sure he palm slapped his forehead.

_**....Oi. Don't tell me you don't know about Valentine's Day either? Ugh... well, I'm too tired to explain it all to you, but all you need to know is that girls give the boys they like chocolates, preferably homemade. Most girls confess their love too. **_

_Ooh... so that's why the Teme is so jumpy... he's nervous that he won't get any, since he's being a teme all the time! Well, I wouldn't worry if I was him, I'm sure the PP plus her mob will give him more chocolates than he'll ever need._

I heard nii-chan slap his forehead again.

_**You always manage to stun me with your people skills...**__** baka, don't you see the people in here? Don't you think he's aware of them too? Especially since he's been with them a lot longer than a few weeks, like you? Don't you think he has to face them every Valentine's Day? God, you're stupid!**_

_Oohh..._I said sheepishly. _So when do you think they're gonna jump him?_

_**Soon, my sister, soon.**_He laughed evilly. I found an equally evil smirk creep onto my face. I really hadn't anything against him or anything. But, entertainment is never wrong, right?

_**No, not really, probably during lunch break.**_

My smirk was replaced with a pout.

_Oh. How long is it until then?_

_**Ahaha...well, it's eight thirty now, so... about three hours, give or take?**_

My forehead made contact with my desk with a loud bang.

0o0o0

I munched on my onigiri happily, while watching the Teme desperately trying to fight off the fangirls with a stick.

I took a sip off my apple juice.

Teme seemed to have decided it was a vain attempt and simply not worth the bother and now zoomed across the playground trying to shake them off. But they followed him like a faithful bunch of ducklings stalking their mother. Or in this case, a pack of starving wolves having caught sight of an unsuspecting sheep.

I rummaged around in my fuzzy plushie backpack for another onigiri. This wasn't easy considering I didn't dare to look away from the entertaining scene in front of me.

Ooh! They caught him!! I was practically jumping up and down right now.

"SASUKE-KUN!! I LOVE YOOOUUU!!!!"

"Please accept these chocolates!!! They have all my love in them!!"

"Be my boyfriend!!!!"

"No, be _MY_ boyfriend!!"

"BACK OFF, he's _MINE_!!"

"OH YEAH?!"

"HEY, HE'S ESCAPING!!!"

I munched contentedly on my lunch. (lol. munch-lunch) Ah, it had been a long three hours, but it was sooo~ worth it!! (3)

Ooh!! Looks like they caught him again!!

"YES!! I got some of his hair!!! I'm gonna put it under my pillow!!"

"I got a piece of his shirt!! My new lucky charm!!!"

"SASUKE-KUN!!!! I LUUUURVE YOOUU!!!!"

I winced. Ouch! They were getting preeetty violent over there. I took another sip of apple juice. Maybe I should help him out? Naruto-kun wasn't around, so it should be okay, right? Hmmm...

I chewed thoughtfully on my dessert; a blueberry cupcake I got from Takuchi-san's wife. She was actually the reason I was late this morning. See, the Takuchi couple are my new neighbours, so I literally ran in to Mrs. Takuchi this morning when I went to school, one thing lead to another, and I got a pair of freshly baked blueberry cupcakes.

Oh my, Teme was looking kinda beaten up right now....alright, I'll help him out.

...I'll just finish my cupcake first...

0o0o0

It turned out the Teme didn't need my help at all, he just used that "I'm gonna kill you and enjoy it" glare of his. Unfortunately for him, the crazy Things (I couldn't care less what their names are, so I just call them things. Nuff said.) had robbed him of practically all his clothes and most of his weapons. The effect of the glare didn't last too long, so he took the chance to escape, choosing to leave his belongings behind. Well, that's a pretty smart choice if you ask me, I'd do the same thing if I was him.

The only bad thing about that plan was that the Things now were fighting over his stuff. They were obviously gathering "lucky charms" or things to use on their voodoo dolls that I just _knew_ they had hidden away in their Sasuke shrines in their closets. I briefly wondered if they were going to make love potions with some of his hair in it... _Ew_...

Well, I did say I'd help him out, and my cupcake was no more.

I sighed. I was going to get in trouble for this, I just knew it. Maaahh!!!! I didn't want to have sensei lecturing me agaaaiiinnnn!!! Unless...?

I could do what Sasuke, I mean the Teme did! Yay for glaring!

I summoned up as much killing intent as I could, and by some miracle, the un was hidden by heavy clouds and the wind started to pick up the second they noticed me.

"Oi," I said coldly, letting venom seep into my voice. "Put down his weapons. You shouldn't steal."

Touki huffed. _**Yeah, you're one to talk, you little murderer you.**_

I was actually a bit disappointed when they did as I said. I had expected more of a fight, especially since the PP and her blond friend were in the group, and I was only one person.

Anyway, I gathered his things that wasn't ripped apart and then went back to class to find Sasuke, I mean Teme.

And if he wasn't in class, weeeelll.....

... I guess I could skip classes for today. We were just going to practice our aim after lunch as usual, and it's not like I needed to do that.

I just hope I could find the Teme in the classroom. I didn't think he was in there by the way, I mean who wouldn't run for their life with those things after them?

****

MERRRYYYYY CHRISTMASSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (L)(L)(L)(L) (those are hearts, by the way ;)

I am sooo soorrrrryyy for not updating for ages!! But you see, I really wanted to have straight A's in all subjects this year, so in all my spare time, I had to study really hard and I couldn't write . but I made it!! Well, almost, I got the highest grade in all subjects safe two, but I'll get those in the next semester!!!

Anyways, the reason why I want to study my ass off I that after "high school" (I'm not sure how I am supposed to translate the Swedish school system in a way all of you can understand, but I'll try) I want to get in to the toughest school there is in Stockholm (if you're not from Sweden, you have probably never heard of it) it's called the Viktor Rydberg Gymnasium (I assure you, it's not a fitness center), and basically, you have to have the highest grade in every single subject to get in. So yeah... I got some work to do still ;)

But, I've been writing ever since this semester ended, so I could give you this like a present for x-mas :D.

So, moving on to more pleasant topics: how was your Christmas? Tell me!! :3

Mine was great!

I saw the nutcracker ballet with my mum at the Stockholm opera house. It was so beautiful!! All the dancers were so graceful, and the atmosphere in the entire room was just magical, it was so easy to forget that it wasn't really for real!! And then the snowflakes danced!! The snowflakes!!! And later, when the story had come to an end and we had come out, the snow had started to fall!! And there were christmas decorations everywhere, and everything was just so snowy and bright and beautiful. I just couldn't get the waltz of the snowflakes out of my head! That's my favourite part, at least it was this time. Who knows, I might see it again someday, with a different choreography that'll just blow me away!

Oh! And I made my very own chocolate truffles!! And meatballs for the Christmas buffet; I finally managed to almost match my great grandmother's (on my father's side of the family) meatballs in taste!! No one has found her super secret recipe yet, but we're looking ;)! She was a great cook; I bet she could give Gordon Ramsey a run for his money! Lol

Point is, her meatballs were somewhat "legendary" in our family, so hearing something like that from realatives is high praise, haha x3.

I really hope you've had or will have a fantastic Christmas!! Happy holidays!!!

Love, hugs, cookies and homemade truffles and meatballs to you from me!!!

////Izuru-sama

_**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**_

_**POLL UPDATE!!!!!!!!!!**_

**SASUKE**

**NARUTO**tied with**SOMEONE IN AKATSUKI**_** (I have a feeling it's itachi)**_

**Tied: gaara, kiba, neji, shika, someone in sound**

**Now, if you're not happy with these results, then go to my ****profile and vote, vote, vote!! ;D**

**I will not accept votes in the reviews. **

**Once again MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!**


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